It is a different argument but, as in your example above, it's still relevant in how we [should] formulate a solution. I'm loathe to get bogged down in what is or is not evidence and what or what not that evidence might mean from a legal purview. Suffice to say, there's tangible cause to wonder what his function truly was: Very true, and troubling. I think legally there is possibly justification in this specific case, assuming the evidence is real and good (again, I've said this before). But this is not a one-time case justified via existing laws or clauses or declarations. It's now an enshrined executive power courtesy of NDAA. I'm not sure what the answers are. But I'm opposed to the idea of just trusting the state to determine our course in this "new war" and act upon it without any sort of oversight or transparency. That's a surefire way to head down a path antithetical with democracy and liberty. More to the point above, it's all reactionary, without anybody stepping back and looking at root causes and thinking about how we can prevent this situation via a less ethically troublesome path.
As stated earlier though there is plenty of evidence out there about Awlaki that isn't secret. I am not basing my assessment of the Awlaki on what may or may not be secret but on what is known already. Greenwald is perfectly free to cast aspersions on secret evidence but you have to consider what is already widely known about Awlaki. I agree in principle but have a hard time worrying so much about this in regard to Awlaki. As I've said repeatedly I would've liked to see Awlaki brought to trial. I really don't know how feasible that was and given what was known publicly about it him he was a threat.
Right, but what is "widely known"? That he's potentially a low-level member or al-queda who makes videos with nasty messages advocating murdering americans? Is that all it takes to issue a kill order? I'd wager that standard would put a lot of people at the mercy of the drone army. EDIT: This really is not my argument to make. I hope it suffices to say that both you and I are ignorant of the particulars and, in any case, they only matter in an ancillary way to the kill-order power being used/abused.
Since I've seen this brought up in the debate over the killing of Gen. Soleimani bumping this thread. To recap while both are assassinations by US forces using drones in the Middle East they aren't exactly the same. Anwar Al-Awlaki was if not a member of Al Qaeda a follower and had given aid to Al Qaeda, which is a crime under US law. Congress had passed an Authorization of the use of Military Force against Al Qaeda. In the case of Soleimani there isn't an AUMF against Iran and as Rand Paul noted it's quite a stretch to argue that the AUMF passed to overthrow Saddam Hussein is valid towards killing an Iranian general.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_Syria_Civilian_Protection_Act https://www.state.gov/designation-of-the-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps/
I love how suddenly everyone loves and or sympathizes with Soleimani because of their extreme hate of Trump and this automatic knee jerk reaction to everything he does as wrong. I have a feeling more information will come out in the coming weeks and I think everyone from all sides of this needs to cool it and wait before making a judgement. I am disturbed by how sympathetic our media and politicians are to a country that chants Death to America and follows this mantra action. If you want to know why Trump will continue to have support, you can thank the reaction people have when they see the media going against them, as well as political "leaders," who look more like opportunists willing to sell us out at every turn. Until the left begins to embrace civic nationalism, they will fail. People in America, for the most part, like the nation. Their home. The United States.
i love how all the trump suck-ups are acting like its 2003 again and they go around saying people who disagree with them love terrorists. your act was played out a long time ago comrade. and you trump suck-ups have no room to talk when it comes to patriotism and supporting the country. time and time again you put trump over your own country. time and time again trump puts himself over our country. your god trump said POWs are not heroic b/c they were captured, attacked and insulted a gold star mother, repeatedly sided with a former KGB agent over our own country and constantly praises authoritarian thugs all over the world. he doesnt care about our country, our military or our values and neither do you. i am disturbed by how sympathetic our president is to (your leader) putin as well as the rulers of saudi arabia, a country that produced 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11. something that apparently your VP pence is unaware of. you guys are pathetic.
Although Soleimani was responsible for over 600 American lives not to mention countless others it’s not the same. bow your head and show some respect when speak of this revered general from now on.
lol. trump said POWs are not heroic b/c they were captured, insulted a gold star mother, disregards the constitution and sides with authoritarian thugs over our own country and you LOVE him for it. you trump suck-ups are not only shameless, but also blatant hypocrites. sad.
Trump gonna Trump, he was going after McCain after McCain went after him, it’s what he does. Then he proceeds to declare a POW/MIA recognition day not to mention freeing American captives and return of dead soldiers remains. I guess a man of words and no action is what you prefer. Ask the men and women of our military and veterans what they think of Trump.
I don't know why is it hard to see Obama/Trump's policies as some sort of a reflection of reversed mirror images.. to me the score box would be like this : local politics: Obama 7 vs Trump :1 foriegn politics: Obama :2 vs Trump: 6 Expectations are different though: Obama was a bust for a first draft pick. Trump exceeded expectation for an undrafted scrubs
If there is truly a de-escalation with Iran and they aren’t playing possum, I will consider this a very successful. And it is VERY surprising to me. I’m skeptical that this is the end. Trump is one of the most, if not the most decisive and polarizing Presidents in history. But don’t forget Obama was too. He had the right in a frenzy for 8 years. Lincoln was also polarizing considering there was a full blown civil war. Don’t mistakenly think I’m comparing Lincoln to either. I’m just pointing out that he was very unpopular to large percentage of the population.
and his brainwashed sycophants will continue to make excuses for him. so he insulted POWs in order to get back at mccain. and instead of acknowledging that its wrong, youre here making excuses for it. thats just pathetic. trumpublicans have no leg to stand on when it comes to questioning others patriotism. time and time again yall show that you are happy to put trump over your own country. you even excuse his insulting POWs because mccain said something mean to him...poor baby had his feelings hurt so he had to insult POWs in order to get back at mccain. and all you can do is make excuses for it. sad. id prefer if the president of the united states did not insult POWs and gold star mothers. you, on the other hand, seem to enjoy when he does it. at the very least you are making excuses for it. you guys are such cult members that you cant even acknowledge that its wrong to say POWs are not heroic b/c they were captured, insult gold star mothers, side with putin over all our intel agencies and continually praise authoritarian thugs the world over. and you think you have any credibility when you question others patriotism. lol. since you mentioned it, i know a few active duty military and veterans. most absolutely loved GWB and they all hate trump. im very close with an officer who has done multiple tours. the two words he uses to describe trump are "narcissist" and "a-hole". trumps lack of stability, his tendency to announce policy by tweet and his constant fighting with highly respected generals...they notice it and dont like it. officers are actually having to tell their troops to ignore the president...its not policy till they are directly told by their commanding officer. think about that - the military are being told to ignore their commander in chief...as you said, "trump gonna trump". you seem to love it, but his childish, impulsive, divisive behavior is a problem for our military. trumps approval rating with the military is shockingly low for a republican. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...ppy-with-trump-new-military-times-poll-shows/ Half of active-duty service members are unhappy with Trump, new Military Times poll shows Half of active-duty military personnel contacted in the poll held an unfavorable view of President Trump, showing a continued decline in his approval rating since he was elected in 2016. Trump’s 42 percent approval in the latest poll, conducted from Oct. 23 to Dec. 2, sets his lowest mark in the survey since being elected president. Some 50 percent of troops said they had an unfavorable view of him. By comparison, just a few weeks after his electoral victory in November 2016, 46 percent of troops surveyed had a positive view of the businessman-turned-politician, and 37 percent had a negative opinion.
