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Rand Paul: Show us the drone memos.
[NYT] Anwar al-Awlaki was an American citizen who was subject to a kill order from Mr. Obama, and was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a missile fired from a drone. I don't doubt that Mr. Awlaki committed treason and deserved the most severe punishment. Under our Constitution, he should have been tried -- in absentia, if necessary -- and allowed a legal defense. If he had been convicted and sentenced to death, then the execution of that sentence, whether by drone or by injection, would not have been an issue.
| Quite interesting Rand Paul would cite the al-Awlaki drone strike. |
| I disagree with the senator. Though legally an American citizen, Mr. al Awlaki was engaged in warring against the U.S., and deserved nothing more than to be shot as a spy. Which he was. |
I think the Senator is right. Awlaki was indeed a traitor and I don't shed a tear at his demise: I recall being mighty pleased reading about his zappage. But there should have been a proceeding before-hand that declared him to be a traitor, to have forfeited his rights as an American citizen, and to be now an official enemy whom we could drone-zap without harming our collective conscience.
Presidents are not supposed to have the power to declare American citizens to be 'outlaws': that's there point of the Treason Clause in the Constitution, so that the executive could not do this the way an English King could. |
Posted by: Besoeker 2014-05-13 |
