Lincoln’s Legacy and the War on Terror

John Yoo has an interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal concerning the case of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American citizen killed in Yemen on September 30 by a drone-fired missile, in the light of history.  Yoo invokes the precedent of the Civil War, arguing that the government can employ lethal force against citizens who engage in acts of war against the U.S., as Lincoln did in suppressing an armed rebellion.