Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, two U.S. citizens, were killed by an American drone strike Friday in Yemen. Awlaki had been the Chief of External Operations for al Qaeda's Yemen branch and Khan served as its propaganda chief. Awlaki had been active in terrorist attacks against American targets and had directed or encouraged others to commit acts of terrorism against Americans. Awlaki is believed to have inspired U.S. Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan’s shooting attack on Ft. Hood soldiers.
Civil libertarians were quick to condemn the extra-judicial killing of U.S. citizens by our military. Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said: "The targeted killing program violates both U.S. and international law. As we’ve seen today, this is a program under which American citizens far from any battlefield can be executed by their own government without judicial process, and on the basis of standards and evidence that are kept secret not just from the public, but from the courts.”
The condemnations were not limited to the civil liberties crowd. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said: "No one likes these kind of people, but I also like the rule of law and I like our Constitution, that you don't just target people, assassinate them, someone who has not been charged and you have no proof of anything."
Here are my thoughts on the Awlaki and Khan killings controversy: As for any U.S. citizen operating in a foreign country who wages terrorism against us, or who encourages others to wage terrorism against us, I say hunt the sorry ass bastard down and blow his shit to hell!! I call it proactive anti-terrorism.
1 comment:
I wonder if we can arrange for Nancy Pelosi to be declared an enemy combatant? She is clearly a threat to the United States.
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