How Does the Death Penalty Differ From Drone Strikes?
Jul 20 2012, 4:00 PM ET
As a lawsuit over the targeted killings of American citizens makes its way through the court system, three experts offer three different opinions.
![[optional image description]](http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/andrew_cohen/panetta7-20-12ban.jpg)
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is the defendant in the pending case. (Reuters)
The most important lawsuit filed so far this year — the most important lawsuit filed in the war on terror since President Barack Obama took office — was unveiled in Washington on Wednesday, just in time for one of the hottest days of the year. In Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta, civil libertarians and two grieving families seek an accounting, literally and figuratively, for the sudden death that came late last September to two overseas terror suspects, both U.S. citizens, who were blown to bits by a missile strike in a remote region of Yemen. Here is the link to the complaint.