to kill u.s. citizens, and when neither the united states nor our partners are in a position to capture him before he carries out a plot, his citizenship should no more serve as a shield than a sniper shooting down on an innocent crowd should be protected from a s.w.a.t. team. >> that was president obama almost nine months ago laying out his legal framework for killing american citizens who have been deemed national security threats. this week the white house faces the same decision. this time, though, the public is being let in on it for the most part. national news outlets are reporting this week that the administration is currently weighing whether to authorize a drone strike against an american citizen living in pakistan, an american who officials believe is actively plotting terrorist attacks against u.s. citizens. according to the ap, which first reported the story, two officials describe the men as an al qaeda facilitator who'd been directly responsible for deadly attacks against u.s. citizens