US assassinates citizen without due process

[Skully]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/09/30/awlaki/index.html

The New York Times notedthat "it is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be approved for targeted killing."
After several unsuccessful efforts to assassinate its own citizen, the U.S. succeeded today (and it was the U.S.). It almost certainly was able to find and kill Awlaki with the help of its long-time close friend President Saleh, who took a little time off from murdering his own citizens to help the U.S. murder its.

[Barry Obama]

good

[soupsandwich]

There's gotta be some sort of distinction between a person actively engaged in war/targeting/killing US forces on foreign soil and just some guy running his mouth about how evil the US is...would it have been better to capture him and put him on trial? Yes.

Maybe they should've revoked his right to be a citizen then went ahead and blown him to bits.

[RADAR]

terrorists aren't citizens.

[RichieGoodtimes]

JFK what?

[squeegeethree]

I think there is a precedent. During WWII any American defecting to the enemy would be treated as an enemy. Enemies get kablewied.

[crosshair]

Incitement to murder on a mass scale, from foreign soil, with results, is more than just running ones mouth off.

There is a distinction between 'an American citizen' and this guy.
I'm not sure what it is, but there is one. I don't need to see it spelled out.

I find slippery slope type arguments wholly unconvincing, and I'm not going to lose any sleep over the rule of law because of the assassination of this dude. Maybe if I were an expat al Qaeda affiliated preacher inciting the masses to kill and maim innocents from foreign soil, I might be more concerned about my rights as an American citizen.

[standard]

slippery slope type arguments can be a slippery slope.

[fredo]

"Fuck proof! This is politics, bitches."
-the prez

[Sash]

In a time of war, you do not always have time or resources to observe laws. The whole point of laws is their convenience. In WW2, GI's suspected of being spies would be asked some basic American trivia questions (e.g. "Who won the 1938 World Series?" "Name the Three Stooges" etc.) and if they couldn't answer them, would be shot summarily.