Comments on: Former defense secretary backs oversight of drone strikes

By: woody188

woody188 — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:15:23 +0000

This may be true, but isn’t justification under law for wiping out entire families because they are afraid of retaliation from minors. Granted, many other societies, such as Iraq, are run by 15-year-olds because we have slaughtered all the adults over the last 20 years. But again, fear of retaliation from family of those we have illegally murdered should not be justification for more illegal murder.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:16:27 +0000

Strictly technically, that strike probably had a point. Given that the USA had just murdered his father, it’s not entirely surprising that the son might be just a little annoyed at the USA’s actions.

Recall President Bush’s justification for taking down Saddam Hussein; “He tried to kill my dad”? Well, folks, the USA *did* kill his dad… And then had a lawyer or two do a mystical handwave and declare it all right? I’d be a trifle peeved myself at that.

By: woody188

woody188 — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:11:03 +0000

Now the codification of the illegal assassinations begins. Once it’s codified, it will be legal for the Unitary Executive to assassinate anyone he decides “deserves” it because he is “in the know” about that person.

Does this sound like the USA or perhaps the USSR under Stalin?

Oh wait, even Stalin would have a pretend trial.

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:44:09 +0000

And McCain sounds like he’s going along with the whole principle by saying

“But what we need to do is take the whole program out of the hand of the Central Intelligence Agency and put it into the Department of Defense, where you have adequate oversight,” McCain said. “Since when is the intelligence agency supposed to be an air force of drones that goes around killing people? I believe that it’s a job for the Department of Defense.”

Meanwhile, Rand Paul has it right:

“I think it’s very unseemly that a politician gets to decide the death of an American citizen,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “They should answer about the 16-year-old boy, al-Awlaki’s son who was killed not as collateral damage, but in a separate strike.”

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:39:01 +0000

The whole “secret” panel of judges sounds like something out of “The Starchamber” where a group of judges sends out execution squads after people following a “trial”. These are all mpeople whom they “know” are guilty of crimes but have not been convicted for one reason or another.

By: Keith

Keith — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:02:46 +0000

What ever happened to the notion of “innocent until proven guilty”?

Clearly 1984 is now upon us.

It just came a bit late.