An Alabama congressman wants to untie the federal government's hand and nullify a presidential executive order that bans assassination of foreigners. U.S. Rep. Terry Everett, R-Alabama, has introduced the Terrorist Elimination Act (HR356) that would lift the ban on assassination of terrorist leaders who pose a direct threat to national security.

Everett said the act will allow both the intelligence and military communities to act quickly and decisively to stop terrorists before they are able to inflict harm upon the nation. "I have a real tough time understanding why we can spend tens-of-millions of dollars on a single effort to kill a terrorist leader of an organization, yet we can't use covert activity against them," he said. "That does not make a lot of sense to me.

"Unfortunately, our military and intelligence community is handicapped from being able to target these terrorists through smaller, more focused operations," he said. "Our government's hands are tied due to a series of decades old executive orders banning assassination of foreigners." Everett, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the last presidential executive order on this matter was issued in 1981, by President Ronald Reagan.

"Actually, this legislation would reverse three presidential executive orders, which all came about because of the Church Commission in the 1970s," he said. A Senate committee led by Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, investigated CIA covert actions and disclosed assassination plots against foreign leaders and other operations that were kept from Congress. The committee's investigation led to an executive order by President Gerald Ford in 1976, that banned assassinations.

That order was followed up by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, and again by Reagan in 1981. But Reagan based his executive order on a federal statute, which means Congress has the authority to amend or repeal the order. Everett said there is a critical need for the act because of the new non-conventional threats America faces in the war on terrorism.

"The events of September 11, 2001, have dramatically changed the world in which we live, creating new, more elusive enemies," he said. "In the new global terrorism environment, the United States can no longer afford to be locked into a position of responding to terrorist attacks." Everett's biggest concern with terrorists is they seek to harm Americans with no regard for civilian women and children or military personnel.

The congressman believes having special operation teams that perform covert actions may not only save American lives, but reduce the chance of hurting innocent victims caught in the middle of the war. "We must be able to use all means available before such threats become actual terrorist strikes against Americans," he said. "It is very clear, however, that terrorists do not recognize agreements among countries."

Everett said war is not a clean business, but this would be a cleaner way of fighting. The congressman would like to see his legislation go to the floor for some good discussion. "And I would like to see it pass," he said.