Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Overheard on CNN.com: Legitimate kill or illegal assassination?

Overheard on CNN.com: Legitimate kill or illegal assassination?
Anwar al-Awlaki was believed to be hiding in Yemen.
September 30th, 2011
12:33 PM ET
Comment of the Day:
"Give thanks and never forget the men in the shadows."–JimmyNelson
Officials: U.S.-born al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki killed
Key al Qaeda leader silenced
An American recruiter for al Qaeda was killed in an airstrike in Yemen Friday, a result of a "successful joint intelligence-sharing operation" between Yemen and the United States, a Yemeni government official said Friday. "It can't be understated, the inspirational figure he was," said CNN National Security Contributor Fran Townsend, AQAP's "ability to recruit new people and to raise money will be severely diminished."
Most CNN.com readers praised the airstrike, but a few said al-Awlaki should have been captured and brought to trial. NobelFail said, "Gotta love drones! The new silent killers. Keep up the good work!"
UnitdWeStnd said, "It wasn't long ago that al Qaeda seemed almost invincible with their 'cell' networks. Sure, they're not finished but they're definitely on the ropes. If we Americans work together there is nothing we can't accomplish. We may fight amongst ourselves but let another nation touch any American citizen–regardless of race, creed or color–we'll defend them with our lives. Most importantly, we have something no other country can ever have: American ingenuity."
gman993 asked, "What law makes this legal? What about the U.S. Constitution and the 5th amendment 'nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law'? His crime sounds a lot like conspiracy to murder, which is life in prison not execution. He has not been convicted or charged with any crime."
Voice of Reason said, "Unfortunately, this world that we live in can be very violent. In this case I see no other viable option. Anwar al-Awlaki supported and fueled violence against civilians, making himself a legitimate target. We reap what we sow."
oldpatriot said, "Yet you have zero evidence beyond this new article. Just like Osama, we didn't see the body, we don't hear the rebuttal in court, we never see the evidence. From what I know of this situation it appears the CIA and DoD committed an assassination of an American citizen on foreign soil."
reACTIONary replied, "That is exactly what happened, and no one, especially the government, is trying to present it any differently. The guy has been on the CIA 'Kill or Capture' list for a long time and that is very public knowledge. There is a lot of publicly verifiable information about this guy that would lead anyone to conclude he was exactly what the CIA says he was."
GMCRET said, "The administration stated that since he went in the 'operational realm' he was a legitimate target. I doubt the SCOTUS is going to take this up. Good riddance to bad rubbish."
cnn

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