The killing of Anwar al Awlaki

Hailed as a blow against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the U.S. drone strike in Yemen last week that killed U.S.-born cleric Anwar al Awlaki raises difficult legal questions that world leaders have largely avoided since such strikes began in the name of counterterrorism.

Unlike similar drone attacks in Pakistan, which can be linked tenuously to the ongoing fighting in Afghanistan, the legality of the strikes in Yemen under the law of armed conflict and human rights law is unclear. (The

The killing of Anwar al Awlaki