House Bill: Advanced Notice for Kill/Capture Missions

Bill Would Require Congress Be Informed Before Assassinations

The “Oversight of Sensitive Military Operations Bill,” sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R – TX) with 28 co-sponsors, has been introduced in the House of Representatives today.

The bill would require that the administration to notify Congressional defense committees of any planned “kill-capture” operations before launching such missions.

In addition, the bill would require military and intelligence officials to provide a report to the committees outlining “legal and policy considerations” related to the pending assassination.

Though the bill enjoy solid support in the House, it is being loudly opposed by Senate hawks, with Sens. John McCain (R – AZ) and Lindsay Graham (R – SC) arguing that giving Congress legal oversight would “hamstring” the White House’s ability to kill all the people it wants to kill.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.