Saturday, October 1, 2011

No Mr. Obama

Your targeted killing of US-born al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki by the CIA was illegal. I won't argue the Mr. al-Awlaki was the enemy and it would be hard to arrest and extradite him on charges for this alleged actions (remember innocent until guilty?), but that doesn't give you the right to ignore the Constitution.

The Department of Justice has made the case your decision was legal in the war on terrorism, the now (since 2001) permanenet persistent war we will never quit because it's political expedient, but that justification is the same as when the DOJ disavowed the rules regarding prisoners under the Geneva Convention and the legal right to torture.

There is no difference in that you, like Mr. Bush, decided the Constitution doesn't exist for you and your decisions, and you have decided any American citizen can be killed without due process supposedly guarranteed under the Constitution. It doesn't matter how bad any citizen they are, they're all still citizens with rights, which you can ignore.

All you have for evidence is that he incited violence against Americans and the United States and may, note may, have been involved in operations of some of the attempted attacks or attacks. But you have said all that evidence is classified and we will never see the inside of a court, so we will never know, let alone a court, to decide his fate under the law.

Remember the laws we all live under? Yeah, those laws. You have clearly abdicated your responsibilities as President to uphold the Constitution, as you had your hand on the Bible and swore to defend. You are no different and no better, maybe even worse, than Mr. Bush and his illegal actions against people, anyone they wanted anywhere in the world.

You long lost my vote but now you have lost my respect. And who's next in your list of citizens to kill? Or will we not know until you announce they were terrorists and then when asked about evidence you say, "Trust me." Sorry, you've lost my trust for being a nation which is a signatory to the international standard, the Geneva Concention.

Remember that? Right, you don't believe in human rights for prisoners. You don't believe in due process. You make me wonder if you really believe in this country for which it stands.

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