![]() So a president can now kill a citizen without publicly naming him as a target, stating the basis for his killing, or even acknowledge his killing once it has been carried out. While few people mourn the passing of a figure like al-Awlaki who was accused being a leader in al Qaeda, they should mourn the passing of basic constitutional protections afforded to all citizens. The Obama administration succeeded in arguing that the planned killing of a citizen on this hit list was a “political question,” not a legal question. At the time, the Justice Department argued that if al-Awlaki wanted judicial review, he should file with the clerk’s office himself – despite an order for him to be shot on sight. ![]() government with al-Awlaki, it was a hearing that the intelligence agencies likely did not want to occur. ![]() Due to reported prior associations of the U.S. citizens killed because a president unilaterally declared them to be part of a terrorist organization.īefore the killing, Obama successfully fought efforts by al-Awlaki’s family to have a court review the legality for the planned assassination of their kin. They did so last week in Yemen – and killed U.S.-born cleric Samir Khan for good measure. President Obama never denied that he told the military to kill Anwar al-Awlaki on his sole discretion a year ago. citizens without a trial or even a formal charge and the public applauded. Last week, Americans saw a curious sight for a free nation: their president ordered the killing of two U.S. Notably, Ron Paul (who has emerged as the only candidate discussing these issues from a civil libertarian perspective) suggested an impeachment inquiry based on the killing of the two citizens. Ironically, the day after I wrote the Los Angeles Times column on Obama’s disastrous impact on the civil liberties movement in the United States (including his assertion of the right to kill citizens on his own authority), the U.S. Below is today’s column in USA Today (to run in paper form on Wednesday) on President Barack Obama’s claim to the right to kill citizens as dangers to the nation. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories |