independently. al awalaki was a top member of al qaedaing and personally declared war on the u.s. a missile from the u.s. drone hit his car in yemen. president obama makes no apology and calls his death a major blow to al qaeda. he directed the failed attempt to blow up an airplane on christmas day. in 200 he directed the failed attempt to blow up cargo planes. and he repeatedly called on individuals in the united states and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda. in an interview with cnn s erin burnett today, leon panetta defended the rational for killing al awalki without giving him a trial. this individual was a terrorist. yes, he was a citizen, but if you re a terrorist, you re a terrorist. and that means we have the ability to go after those who would threaten to attack the united states and kill americans. there s no question that the authority and the ability to go after a terrorist is there. barbara star has bee