Three OpEd pieces... Not very good supporting evidence. Let me break this down for you. Let's start with your statement... "Bush IQ gave permit
ion to CIA to assassin any foreign leader." Hmmm... Nope, there is no executive order that affords the CIA to assassinate ANY foreign leader, let
alone ANY order given by GWB. Now let's investigate what really happened.
First of all the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES introduced HR 19 IH on January 3, 2001. The Resolution was introduced by Mr. Barr of Georgia to the 107th
US Congress during the 1st session which was then referred to the Commitee of International Relations. The impetus behind the Bill was to repeal only
CERTAIN aspects of previous exeutive orders regarding the assissination of individuals, namely Section 5(g) of Executive Order 11905, Section 2-305
of Executive Order 12036, and Section 2.11 of Executive Order 12333. The idea was to allow our intelligence and defense communities to be able to
respond quickly to terrorist threats against the United States. Under the previoulsy written executive orders, the assassination of ANY foreign
national was illegal... this would have included the likes of Bin Laden.
Now for clarification, here are the definitions of the previous sections in question:
Section 5(g) of Executive Order 11905: Prohibition of Assassination. No employee of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to
engage in, political assassination.
Section 2-305 of Executive Order 12036: Prohibition on Assassination. No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall
engage in, or conspire to engage in,
assassination.
Section 2.11 of Executive Order 12333: Prohibition on Assassination. No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall
engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.
That being said, International Law and OTHER provisions contained in Executive Orders prohibit the assassination of foreign leaders, UNLESS, as
defined by Congress in HR 19 IH...
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) past Presidents have issued Executive orders which severely limit the use of the military when dealing with potential threats against the United
States of America;
(2) these Executive orders limit the swift, sure, and precise action needed by the United States to protect our national security;
(3) present strategy allows the military forces to bomb large targets hoping to eliminate a terrorist leader, but prevents our country from designing
a limited action which would specifically accomplish that purpose;
(4) on several occasions the military has been ordered to use a military strike hoping, in most cases unsuccessfully, to remove a terrorist leader who
has committed crimes against the United State;
(5) as the threat from terrorism grows, America must continue to investigate effective ways to combat the menace posed by those who would murder
American citizens simply to make a political point; and
(6) actions by the United States Government to remove such persons is a remedy which should be used sparingly and considered only after all other
reasonable options have failed or are not available; however, this is an option our country must maintain for cases in which international threats
cannot be eliminated by other means.
That being said, the other provisions still maintain their legal status in both the United States and International Law. For a better understanding
on said limitations review the following as it applies to assasinations:
www.ksg.harvard.edu...
So you see, Bush never introduced ANY Executive Orders allowing the CIA to assassinate ANYONE, let alone foreign leaders. Secondly, the Bill was
introduced to the House of Representives by Mr. Barr, NOT President Bush. So, there you have it... You were wrong!
For additional reading and research please visit:
thomas.loc.gov...:H.R.19.IH: