Weekend Edition: 2 US Citizens Killed by Their Own Government

Reaper control station

Two United States citizens were killed by a drone attack in northern Yemen on Friday. One of them was almost certainly al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki who was put on the CIA 'kill list' by the previous American regime. But the other, probably American citizen Samir Khan of Pakastani origin and editor of al-Qaeda's English online magazine, was not specifically targeted for elimination. The Reaper drones were operated by the CIA from a new secret base in the Arabian Peninsula. Their controllers fired Hellfire missiles at a car in which the two citizens were traveling. Reports from the isolated scene say the car was nearly destroyed and the bodies burned. Al-Awaki was hunted for two years by Yemeni and U.S. Special Forces. He had the support of local villagers who protected him and helped him escape from one commando operation where he was surrounded by Yemeni forces. He also survived a drone attack in May.

The moral and legal basis for killing US citizens deemed to be terrorists is controversial*. What is clear is that each terror leader eliminated inspires others to join the jihadi movement. Major Nidal Malik Hasan who killed 13 people during a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas exchanged e-mails with al-Awlaki before the shootings. Faisal Shazad, another Pakistani-American who attempted a bombing of Times Square in 2010 cited native born al-Awlaki as an inspiration. The American Civil Liberties Union condemned the summary executions without trial. It attempted to challenge the decision to target al-Awlaki in federal court but failed despite the case raising the "stark" question of "whether the president could order the assassination of a U.S. citizen without first affording him any form of judicial process whatsoever based on the mere assertion that he is a dangerous member of a terrorist organization". Whether the US government could be held legally liable for the death of Samir Khan is also an open question given that it enjoys limited immunity from liability for its sovereign functions.

Yemen is in a condition of civil revolt. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is resisting repeated calls for his departure from power by protestors, but he is also critical to U.S. counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen. Saleh returned from Saudi Arabia where he was recovering from wounds received in an assassination attempt when the drone strike occurred. Hampered by sovereign boundaries, indigenous sympathizers, duplicitous allies, and high cost of ineffective conventional warfare, the U.S. is increasingly turning to drone operations to dismember the al-Qaeda leadership cadre. It now operates some 7,000 unmanned aircraft.

*the Fifth Amendment guarantees a person's life, liberty or property shall not be denied without due process of law. Previous cases of turncoats deprived of due process or subjected to summary procedures involved actual, declared wars. The Justice Department has declared the execution legal as an act of national self-defense during wartime. Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) said in New Hampshire, "I don't think that's a good way to deal with our problems"....But if the American people accept this blindly and casually--that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassination people who he thinks are bad guys--I think it's sad." Its more than sad, its degenerate, harking back to the days of the divine right of kings. Ron Paul mentioned that Awlaki had contact with the so-called "underwear bomber". All reports confirm that the “underwear bomber” was walked onto the airliner by an official, despite the fact that the “underwear bomber” had no passport. No investigation was ever conducted by the FBI, CIA, or anyone into why a passenger without a passport was allowed on an international flight. The latest scare is the "model airplane bomber" who allegedly planned to blow up fortified buildings with less than five pounds of C4, all under the oversight of FBI undercover agents. The purpose of these fake plots is to keep dumbed-down Americans in a constant state of compliant fear. So don't forget to undress before entering the airport peep booth, otherwise you will be fondled for national security.