bad call

while i'm glad that the administration's claim that it has the power to assassinate anyone anywhere with flying death robots is finally getting some attention, i'm pretty pessimistic that this will produce any serious check on the president's ability to murder. both parties support the policy as long as the murder targets are deemed to be bad guys and the fact that the basis for that finding of evilness is never made clear doesn't seem to be bothering many people.

i also don't see the point in creating a legal memo to justify targeted killings and then claim that no one else can ever see that justification. who exactly are those arguments directed at? if you hide the justification from me, then why should i assume you have one that makes any sense? there are too many barriers to a court ever seriously reviewing the policy anyway. the memo was really little more than busy work for the president's lawyers.

i guess the memo has a little more point now that the senate intelligence committee members are allowed to read it. but remember, until the president relented this week, even they weren't originally supposed to see it. and allowing those select senators, and no one else, to read it may give the memo more of a point, but only a little more.