PRESIDENT OBAMA has refused to tell Congress or the American people why he believes the Constitution gives, or fails to deny, him the authority to secretly target and kill American citizens who he suspects are involved in terrorist activities overseas. So far he has killed three that we know of.
Presidents had never before, to our knowledge, targeted specific Americans for military strikes. There are no court decisions that tell us if he is acting lawfully. Mr. Obama tells us not to worry, though, because his lawyers say it is fine, because experts guide the decisions and because his advisers have set up a careful process to help him decide whom he should kill.
He must think we should be relieved.
The three Americans known to have been killed, in two drone strikes in Yemen in the fall of 2011, are Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was born in New Mexico; Samir Khan, a naturalized American citizen who had lived in New York and North Carolina, and was killed alongside Mr. Awlaki; and, in a strike two weeks later, Mr. Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was born in Colorado. (Read more)
Comment from elsewhere on web:
The justice department today ruled the government has
the right to kill anyone they think is associated with Al
Qaeda either directly or indirectly. They only need to be
alleged to be involved, no formal proof is required. So I
read this as opening up the entire population as fair
game for anyone that disagrees with current government
policy, all they have to do is say you are alleged to be
linked to Al Qaeda and you can be blasted off the face of
the earth. Seems like this opens the door to mass genocide
of non believers in current administration policy. Very
disturbing to say the least. By Blogger Dave Jibes 138