Washington Post Editorial on Rand Paul, Drones, and Openness

AFTER SEN. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) held the Senate hostage Wednesday in order to warn that American citizens could be targeted by drone strikes on U.S. soil, he was rightly taken to task for gross and irresponsible mischaracterizations of the Obama administration’s policy. We’ve got another complaint: Mr. Paul and his followers are distracting attention from the real issues raised by the administration’s secret warfare.

Mr. Paul’s filibuster was triggered by the response of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to the question of whether the president “has the authority to order lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without a trial.” Mr. Holder’s unremarkable answer was that the administration had no intention of ever using such force but that “in an extraordinary circumstance,” such as the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, it would be “necessary and appropriate” for the president to order military action inside the United States.

From that answer, Mr. Paul and allies such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) somehow concocted the absurd notion that Americans “sitting quietly in cafes” could be blasted by Hellfire missiles. No, they couldn’t be, as Mr. Holder made clear in a letter to Mr. Paul on Thursday. But the reality is that Americans who become combatants for forces with which the United States is at war, such as al-Qaeda, are legitimate targets. If one such enemy combatant attempted to crash an airliner into the Capitol, the president would be at fault if he did not deploy the Air Force in defense.