Attorney general Eric Holder, in a speech on Monday at the Northwestern University School of Law, defended the American national security position regarding targeted killing of American citizens who are involved in terrorist groups. In light of widespread concern from civil libertarians regarding the recent assassinations of American citizens overseas in three separate occasions, the attorney general, for the first time, clarified the rationale justifying these controversial actions. Holder fleshed out three primary criteria that are necessary to initiate the killings of a target. They must pose an imminent threat of violence, cannot feasibly be captured and must be killed in an operation conducted in line with war principles.

Legal precedence was set for the revocation of habeas corpus for enemy combatants by the Supreme Court in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. The public, however, should become concerned about the government’s breakdown of due process, something inherent to our Constitutional principles. Holder took a major step by saying, “Due process and judicial process are not one and the same,” which is true by definition but not in any way true by American tradition and application. His defense of government actions will perturb Americans who chill at the criteria’s blatant subjectiveness.

However, while the public discomfort toward the government’s lack of transparency is understandable, it must be paired with an equally strong concern for national security. The lack of transparency in question refers to the insufficient amount of proof from the government justifying the targeted killings of American citizens Samir Khan, Anwar Al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old son Abdul Rahman. Not only has any evidence been withheld from public view but the legal memo justifying the executive’s unilateral use of lethal force has been secretly shielded from the American people by the Obama administration.

The government’s opacity is being utilized for a matter deemed to be sensitive to national security, but their unwillingness to be transparent is a national security concern in itself. The killing of American citizens opens up too many possibilities for the government to abuse their authority. And an administration that keeps this extreme power a secret is beginning the fall down a very slippery slope. Therefore, even in some extreme circumstances where the threat is imminent and targeted assassination is inevitable, we believe that it is in the public’s best interest to see the evidence provided by the government to justify the assassination of American citizens.