Clear, concise statement of existing law concerning counter-terrorism initiatives, by CFR.

"As a matter of domestic law, the legal underpinning for U.S. counterterrorism operations and the targeted killing of members of the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and its affiliates across the globe is the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which the U.S. Congress passed just days after 9/11. The statute empowers the president "to use all necessary and appropriate force" in pursuit of those responsible for the terrorist attacks.

The United States has had an official ban on peacetime assassinations since 1976; however, targeted killings are not subject to the prohibition because of the AUMF, insofar as U.S. responses to the events of September 11, 2001, are concerned.  In addition, by classifying terrorism as an act of war, rather than as a crime, the government is not bound by the legal constraints of due process."