U.S. intelligence chief talks about American targets | World | Reuters

U.S. intelligence chief talks about American targets | World | Reuters: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In unusually frank public comments, the top U.S. intelligence chief said on Wednesday that spy agencies could target Americans involved in terrorism but must get permission before a potentially deadly strike.

'We take direct action against terrorists, in the intelligence community,' Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, said at a House committee hearing.

'If ... we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that,' he said, without mentioning where the permission came from.

The Washington Post reported last week that President Barack Obama approved a December 24 strike against a compound in Yemen where a U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Aulaqi, was believed to be meeting with regional al Qaeda leaders.

The CIA and the U.S. military's Joint Special Operations Command maintain lists of individuals they seek to kill or capture, and both lists included at least three Americans, The Washington Post said.

The comment on American targets in a public setting is highly unusual from a current intelligence official and even the congressman asking the questions was caught by surprise."