December 15, 2002

Forked Tongues

Bush signed an order giving the CIA greater authority to "hunt down and kill the terrorists without seeking further approval each time the agency is about to stage an operation," according to The New York Times

The White House gave the CIA a list of leaders it is permitted to kill, including Osama bin Laden, his chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and other principals of Al Qaeda.

Showing they are still the kings of doublespeak, the administration maintains that Bush has not waived the executive order banning assassinations. The reason these are not "assassinations" is that the Bush administration defines its targets as "enemy combatants and thus legitimate targets for lethal force," says the Times.

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