An American citizen has been targeted for assassination by the Obama Administration, and in this case, that's fine with me. New Mexico born Islamic cleric Anwar al-Alawki is a man who has openly declared war against the US, while living in Yemen, an Al-Queda stronghold, and has offered comfort and support to known terrorists. Specifically, the Fort Hood shooter and the Christmas "underwear bomber".
National Review Online supports the policy as well, though the linked article does call to attention the seeming disparity between this and other Obama Administration policies in regards to terrorists apprehended on and off the field of battle. Their stated preference of trying them in civilian courts, with full Miranda rights and other constitutional protection afforded to most common criminals, provides the most telling an obvious example of this disparity.
In the meantime, some leftist sites are on record as calling into question this policy-while some right-leaning blogs also criticize the policy, one of them going so far as to declare an "amber alert" on behalf of the constitution. No one on the left has joined in this particular cause, which is good, as most of those assholes wouldn't recognize the Constitution if it bit them on the ass, let alone was missing. They never bothered to familiarize themselves with it before, so it would be unseemly for them to put it on a fucking milk carton. Doubtless they would portray it in the form of an age-progression sketch which would look very little like the original document.
But for pundits on the Right to criticize this policy strikes me as no more than a knee-jerk anti-Obama reaction. While it is to be expected, it is every bit as unseemly as the Left with their constant harping about the Bush Administration, come what may, for whatever reason, which could pretty well be distilled in essence as, hey it's a new day, what can we find to bash Bush about?
I have yet to see anything by the Daily Kos or the HuffPo concerning the matter, which is not to say they haven't posted anything, I just haven't taken the time to go directly to those sites yet. I have not seen anything by them linked by other sites, however, which might be significant. Doubtless were this a Bush Administration policy, again, traffic to these and other leftist sites bitching about it might well crash the net. But so it goes.
Ordinarily, it would be legitimate cause for concern if the feds were to target a civilian citizen for assassination, or for some other action which might be seen as in violation of that person's constitutional rights. For example, suppose an AG were to kidnap a Mafia member and have him whisked away and unceremoniously dumped in the jungles of Guatemala without benefit of a trial or hearing, with nothing but the clothes on his back and money in his wallet, with not so much as a toothbrush, suitcase, or change of clothes otherwise. We would ordinarily be aghast at such unofficial official behavior, regardless of our lack of sympathy as to the plight of the individual in question. Unless of course the AG in question was Robert Kennedy, at which point, if you're a Democrat, you continue to bow and worship at the Kennedy altar.
This, however, is a man who is a known, proven, and demonstrated traitor to his country, who is acting in concert with declared enemies of the US, on foreign soil. He deserves no special consideration. No trial, hearing, or judicial review here in needed nor is it warranted. He is on record, in person, recorded on tape from Yemen, as encouraging attacks on this country and its citizens.
As much as it pains me to admit it, Obama is right in this matter. The only problem is, he doesn't go far enough. It shouldn't stop with American citizens.
Any Islamic imam who declares war, jihad, fatwa, or otherwise engages in violent, or otherwise criminal activity against the US, should be taken out, along with his core supporters. This wouldn't be that hard to do. Yes, it might involve loss of innocent lives, but I would suggest that those around such people, in his immediate orbit, are mostly supporters. If this policy were pursued over a five year period, it might result in the loss of a few thousand lives, maybe even ten or twenty thousand or so, and yes, many of these will be relatively innocent family members, including children.
On the other hand, it would give these people pause to consider that maybe encouraging attacks against the US, against US citizens on US soil and abroad, and against US interests, might not be the wisest move they might make.
It's called cutting off the head of the snake. I say go for it. No matter how many deaths are the result of such a policy, it probably would be a fraction of the deaths that would otherwise occur, the vast majority of who might well be, in fact more than likely would be, innocents.
Of course, we would need a carrot to go with this stick. In this case, we might well find that, when it comes to the majority of people on the so-called Arab street, the carrot and the stick might well be one and the same thing. I honestly believe the Muslim population would be well served by cutting off this cancer in their midst. They just can't tell you that openly, for obvious reasons.
