Elissa Lerner: Since when do we authorize killing American citizens? The Obama Administration has approved a targeted killing, of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a spiritual leader to two of the 9/11 suspected hijackers, Maj. Nidal Hasan of the November Fort Hood shootings, and Umar Abdulmutallab, the would-be Detroit airplane bomber in December. Al-Awlaki, despite his current residence in Yemen and violent and blatantly anti-American agenda, remains a U.S. citizen. The extent of al-Awlaki’s legal rights has been debated since the Detroit attempt. But for an administration that has prioritized due process and considered trying the 9/11 suspects on U.S. soil instead of in military tribunals, this move seems out of character, and out of line. Even George W. Bush never condoned something like this.