In another hard-line approach to the war on terrorism, the Bush administration has given the Central Intelligence Agency the authority kill anyone working for al-Qaida overseas. This authority is granted under a secret finding signed by the president after the Sept. 11 terror attacks that specifically directs the CIA to covertly attack al-Qaida anywhere in the world.

The policy has come under fire recently with the death of an American citizen who fell under the authority of this order. Kamal Derwish was killed on Nov. 11 when the car he was traveling in was destroyed in Yemen by a missile fired from a CIA-operated Predator drone aircraft. American authorities have deemed this action legal, citing Derwish’s ties to an al-Qaida cell in suburban Buffalo, N.Y.

The controversy stems from the fact the secret finding makes no exception for Americans working with al-Qaida. And why should it?

When the United States was attacked on its own soil the cry for justice rang out almost immediately and unanimously. The public looked to its leaders for a swift action and a quick resolution to the incident.

But the fact of the matter is this: fighting terror is not, and will never be, a short or simple affair. There are no clear-cut enemies, locations or specific strategies in place explaining to us how to deal with terror.

We are in uncharted territory, a type of war we are not accustomed to fighting. If we hope to be successful in the elimination of terrorism, we are going to have to adapt and make difficult decisions.

The way we fight and the public’s perception of war will both have to change. If we hope to effect a change, we cannot discriminate or allow our emotions to get involved — if an individual is working for al-Qaida, American citizen or otherwise, they should be held to the same standard of the finding.

Officials have stressed the authority will only be used when all other options are exhausted. Proposed military-like strikes will only be used if and when law enforcement and internal security efforts by allied foreign countries fail. A captured and questioned al-Qaida operative is more valuable than a dead one.

Other questions of where the lines of the battlefield stop have been asked and there are concerns that these operations could — in the near future — take place within our own borders. So far this fear is unfounded, to safeguard civil liberties in the United States, the CIA has no domestic policing powers. And in addition, in 1973 Congress added additional provisions barring the agency from any domestic operations.

As the times and the people we’re fighting change, maybe policy should too. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, gives us this thought: “A U.S. citizen terrorist will kill you just like somebody from another country.”

Editorial Board:Cavan Reagan, Amber Billings, Ayrel Clark, Charlie Weaver, Rachel Faber Machacha.