The U.S. may target and kill U.S. citizens when they take up arms with al-Qaeda, top lawyers in the Obama administration said Thursday.
CIA counsel Stephen Preston and Pentagon counsel Jeh Johnson were questioned at a national security conference about the drone strike that killed American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, but they would not comment on it specifically. They did say U.S. citizens don’t have legal rights when they side with al-Qaeda.
Johnson maintained that only the executive branch, not the courts, can decide who qualifies as an enemy on a battlefield. Unfortunately for U.S. citizens, the secret, peremptory nature of such executive decisions is not up to a review of any kind and do not require that any evidence be put forth proving the individual’s guilt or association with al-Qaeda.
Obama’s lawyers were also not bothered by the fact that the “battlefield” in such considerations is amorphous and essentially spans the globe, a fact which makes their legal opinion on targeted assassinations of American citizens a dramatic expansion of unaccountable government power.
Also unmentioned was the CIA murder of al-Awlaki’s 16-year old son and what kind of legal authority the Obama administration had for that action. Presumably, they are immune from any investigation or prosecution regarding that attack.
Defending yourself is a basic human right., I support that right over the rights of state employed murderers.
There goes the Magna Carta.
And since the battlefield includes the homeland, anyone is a target. How can this or the future tyrant of the US eliminate his political enemies, or those pesky occupiers? Label them "enemy combatant." And since Wall Street is the master of the tyrant, how can they deal with their critics? Have their servant label the person an "enemy combatant." But such a thing would never happen in the US, now would it?
"But such a thing would never happen in the US, now would it?"
Deja vu, all over again. The tyranny of state-sponsored violence against the domestic populous has been manifested in crushing labor unions & left wing political parties since the founding of the FBI. COINTELPRO and associated political assassinations were common 'solutions' against civil rights & anti-war groups in the 1950's through the 1970's. The 1980's through the 2000's saw a rise in single vehicle accidents, small plane crashes, unexpected aneurisms, heart attacks, virulent cancers, unsolved violent crimes and 'suicides'. Today's tyranny has just become more blatant in-our-face government-sponsored violence against We The People, increasingly codified in law.
The battle against populist movements promulgating civil & human rights has always included the homeland. But never before has the Constitution & Bill of Rights, and equal justice under the Rule of Law ever been at greater systemic risk than today, aided and abetted by a bipartisan Congress.
So now our government has declared war on us. Fine. I'll not stand idle while my beloved country goes down in flames. John McCain, aka "Angry Old Man", is a traitor. Hell, he always has been. Joe Lieberman is in the same camp. When the list of the traitors who voted for this evil bill gets out, there will be carnage.
The Senate passed Senate bill#1867 today in the National Defence Authorisation Act.
I won't be shedding any tears when these two legal beagles are put down like the rabid dogs they are.
counting the days until obama and his war-mongering, freedom-stealing agenda are history.
Hmmm… The question is, what's going to be history first: the Constitution or the Obama Administration? I already hate the answer to that question.
Didn't we say the same thing about bush? Who's next?
Who will determine who is a terrorist? Aipac?
A definition of a terrorist would be this. TERROR: A physical or psychological act that is violent in nature for the purpose of maintaining or gaining submission. Now tell me, who's the terrorist? AIPAC dictates America's foreign policy and many oher things. Ron Paul said "because we're over there, they're over here". Who is terrorizing who? Oh! the American. They're just an asset along as they pay their taxes so DC and AIPAC can do as they please. DC is like a magician, they want you looking at one hand while they are commting their wiles with the other. Trouble is many people are buying it.
Why do you censor? Free speech and all that, you know, old top!
[moderator’s note: We don’t censor. You’re free to say whatever you like. If you want to use our microphone, there are rules – TLK]
I find it disturbing and blatantly hypocritical that our Law Professor President routinely violates international and national law under the "War on Terror" ruse. This smoke-screen provides blanket immunity to war criminals and a license for energy-concern elitists to kil and rob at will. Our Founders must be turning over in their respective graves at the prospect.
The Obama dictatorship is growing more powerful!
Socrates and Plato were correct in predicting that a Democracy / Republic would not last much past 200 years before 'evolving' into a dictatorship..
Interesting logic isn't it? My lawyer says it's legal therefore I can do it. That would sure come in handly if I decided to lead a life of crime like our President has.
9-12-01..i say to my friend. this is all wrong, something is going on here and i don't mean terrorists. you're crazy, paranoid,,,as the year's pass and i become a truther and say that the patriot act is for us, that these wars are part of a design to shred our liberty. cuckoo..crazy…lunatic. well here we are 10 years later and with bitter cynicism i say i told you so. solution?: read and adopt the tenants immediately of the declaration of independence. we are a military police state. we are a corporate fascist dictatorship. they've declared war on u.s. citizens. it's time we do the same to them.
Of course Obama wants the power to kill Americans that aren't politically correct to his whims, and he's not an American. Any would be tyrant wants that kind of power. But what about McCain and the Zionist Lindsay Graham? Don't they want the same power themselves? Turning American citizens over to the military is the same thing isn't it? They'll probably start with Quantanimo but American soil is just another step. These people want to rule like any would be tyrant, not serve, and what tyrant wants to take orders from our Constitution? It was said, the only thing new is the history you haven't read yet. Having been versed in history, none of this "news" surprises me. The only one that could save America is Ron Paul because he's the only one that wants to serve. The others are would be rulers.
When it comes time to separate the sheep from the goats, the only question the administration will have to answer is "Would you like a blindfold?" before they are lined up for their well-earned vacation. Remember, even Ernst Roehm went down shouting "Heil Hitler!" with his last breath when he became a liability to the National Socialists.
Don't confuse party loyalty or patriotism with usefulness; when you've become expendable you might as well go ahead and get your affairs in order because at that point you're just another mouth to feed or another recipient of welfare and the less spent on you the better. Guess what? A .45 ACP round to the back of the head is whole lot cheaper than food stamps.
It's just a matter of time before they spot some little quirk, some pt. of disagreement, rebellion, doubt, a shadow of uncertainty perhaps – you may be seen not to stand for the singing of the National anthem at a ballgame or have visited certain websites – I hear Anti-war.com is one of those- or some acquaintance may report something you might have said that sounded 'suspicious' or a letter to the local editor… there's an endless list of possibilities… that could lead to a shadow being cast over you. It's just a matter of time…
THEY TOOK AN OATH TO UPHOLD AND PROTECT THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AGAINST ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, BUT THEY VIOLATE THEIR OATH BECAUSE:
– THEY HOLD DUAL CITIZENSHIP.
– THEY PUT THE INTERESTS OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS OVER THAT OF OUR NATION.
– HAVE DESTROYED OUR ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE BY FIGHTING ILLEGAL WARS OF AGGRESSION TO SERVE THESE FOREIGN INTERESTS AT AMERICAN EXPENSE.
– HAVE SOLD THEMSELVES OUT TO BANKS AND FOREIGN LOBBIES.
– VOTES FOR AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAW WHICH WAS DERIVED IN SECRET AND IS DESIGNED TO DESTROY THE VERY RIGHTS WHICH PROTECT ALL AMERICANS AND FOR WHICH THE FOUNDING FATHERS FOUGHT AND DIED.
THEY SWORE TO PUT AMERICA AND THE U.S. CONSTITUTION FIRST, BUT CLEARLY LIED TO US!!!
SO, WHAT SHOULD BE THE PRICE OF THEIR TREASON?
WHY ARE THESE ELECTED TRAITORS PASSING LAWS AND ESSENTIALLY BURNING THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, GIVING OUR LIFEBLOOD AWAY TO FOREIGN INTERESTS WHILE THEY PAD THE POCKETS OF BANKERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WHILE PREPARING TO JAIL US AND KILL US OFF AFTER THEY PASS THEIR NEW LAWS?
WHILE AMERICANS BURY THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND, OUR REPUBLIC IS BEING DESTROYED FROM WITHIN BY TRAITORS IN THE CONGRESS PRETENDING TO BE PATRIOTS…
SO WHERE HAVE ALL THE TRUE PATRIOTS GONE?
IT'S 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT AND YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER…
WHAT WILL ALL THE TRUE PATRIOTS DO TO SAVE AMERICA?
The one thing that all governments fear more than anything else is their own people.