US citizen might be drone target
The Associated Press reports that Defense folks are debating whether or not a particular unnamed US citizen and al Qaeda member should be droned. Everyone seems to be waiting on the Justice Department to present their case for the summary death sentence;
Four U.S. officials said the American suspected terrorist is in a country that refuses U.S. military action on its soil and that has proved unable to go after him. And President Barack Obama’s new policy says American suspected terrorists overseas can only be killed by the military, not the CIA, creating a policy conundrum for the White House.
Two of the officials described the man as an al-Qaida facilitator who has been directly responsible for deadly attacks against U.S. citizens overseas and who continues to plan attacks against them that would use improvised explosive devices.
But one U.S. official said the Defense Department was divided over whether the man is dangerous enough to merit the potential domestic fallout of killing an American without charging him with a crime or trying him, and the potential international fallout of such an operation in a country that has been resistant to U.S. action.
So I guess this administration has painted themselves into a corner. While I generally oppose the death sentence (I don’t like that the government has power over whether we et to live or die), if this US citizen is plotting to inflict mass casualties against Americans, his citizenship shouldn’t be factored into the equation. His intentions are more important than his birthplace. If he wants to murder Americans because of their nationality, he has surrendered any claim to his own birthright. If he was here in the US, it would be a different story, but, clearly he’s out of the reach of our own domestic law enforcement agencies. Drone his ass. Yesterday.
Category: Terror War
Got most of those same issues, Jonn. It’s really tough especially with all that due process stuff which protects us all from an overreaching government.
Never checked into it, but surely there are ways to convict someone of treason in absentia. I would be more comfortable with the execution of a death penalty if a court has convicted them.
y’know, Jonn, there is a real good reason for the death penalty: it is the one penalty we have discovered which when applied, has a 0% recidivism rate. It is not the ultimate punishment, it is society’s ultimate self-protection measure.
I concur – drone time.
If it’s Adam Gahan (he fits the bill here) I’ll push the button myself and sleep like a baby afterwards.
Nah, the drone is too blunt an instrument. This needs a more subtle approach.
Find someone who can take him out for coffee or tea, and pull a Putin on him – drop some radioactive cobalt or cesium in his coffee. He’ll be dead in less than 4 months.
Geez, no wonder this idiot administration gets worse and worse press. I’ve seldom seen such sheer stupidity. They should try reading a few spy novels. It might give them some ideas.
If he is on foreign soil what happened to the CIA’s ability to do wet work, when and where needed? Another good call from the Monday morning quarterback on the Oval Office. If you have a big mean dog, why keep it in the kennel. During the Cold War we will never know, though I can imagine, how many enemies of America were dispatched by the CIA. Good program then and I think it is still a good option. If the new “rule” is “only by the military”, then temporarily commission the CIA agent into the armed forces and let him loose. There are plenty of creative ways to get out of that painted corner if they just stop and think for a minute, between planning vacations.
Try him in absentia and then drone his ass.
If someone is (1) overseas, and (2) actively working for a hostile power, I don’t personally give a damn about their citizenship. If they’re a legitimate wartime target based on their activities, take them out.
Gadahn should have been worm-food years ago.
Actually this one is simple. DOJ swears out an arrest warrant on him. DOJ fax’es it to the drone controlling unit, they upload it to the drone which loads it into the Hellfire. Then the Hellfire can serve the warrant on the terrorist scum. KABOOM! All good and legal too.