The US government's internal guidelines for targeted killings of al-Qaeda suspects allow for such strikes against US citizens abroad, as long as they are believed to be senior leaders of the group and still engaged in operations, a leaked justice department memo shows.<br />The 16-page document, released by the US-based NBC news television service on Tuesday, provides a legal rationale behind the US administration's use of drone strikes against al-Qaeda suspects.<br />The memo says that it is lawful for the US to target al-Qaeda-linked US citizens if they pose an "imminent" threat of violent attack against other US citizens, and that delaying action against such people would create an unacceptably high risk.<br /><br />Al Jazeera speaks to Pardiss Kebriaeu, a senior lawyer with the Centre for Constitutional Rights in New York.
