It's simple, maybe unethical and way off the moral high ground we claim to be staking out but effective and legal under the US Constitution. Make sure you check for any text that says these protections apply to non-citizens. While I am unqualified to comment on the national security aspect of these issues, there certainly are security issues presented by them. I quote the US Constitution, 14th Amendment: Amendment XIV Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Under this reading, the rights accorded under our federal constitution are not extended beyond US Citizens without regard to location of those citizens. I read this to require treatment by the US of US citizens abroad the same as in the US. - Paul Gormley criminal defense attorney in Massachusetts ---