Posted on 02/06/2013 5:08:21 PM PST by raptor22
Drone Wars: A government memo concludes the U.S. can order the killing of American citizens believed to be tied to al-Qaida, with the White House acting as judge, jury and executioner. Gee, what about due process?
Those of us who remember the condemnation and scorn heaped on President George W. Bush by liberals and civil libertarians for his post-9/11 security measures are bemused by the Obama administration's official declaration of the right to kill Americans abroad through the use of drone strikes.
And it's based on the idea that a single White House official can decide whether the individual in question is a threat.
"The condition that an operational leader present an 'imminent' threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future," says the confidential Justice Department "white paper" obtained by NBC News.
So who gets to make the call? The memo says, an "informed, high-level" official of the U.S. government may determine that the targeted American has been "recently" involved in "activities" posing a threat of a violent attack," but leaves undefined who that official might be and does not define "activities" or "recently."
This is an administration that condemned the use of enhanced interrogation techniques used on the likes of Khalid Sheik Muhammed, including water boarding, that were branded as "torture" even though they produced information that saved American lives and led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.
KSM at one point was to be given the benefit of an American jury trial in a civilian court. Indefinite detention without trial was to be ended and Guantanamo was to be closed.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
If Bush had done this, there would be massive protests in major cities around the world.
So if you’re Obama, and you want as much power as you can get, I suppose prolonging all the wars you can could allow you to amass the ratcheted powers POTUS gets in wartime but for an extended period of time.
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I wasn’t a fan of the “War on Terror” and the Patriot Act to begin with. Definitely not a fan of Obama wiping his behind with the writ of habeas corpus.
If you’re a Republican, re-consider traveling abroad for buz or pleasure.....
:(
I'm just afraid the POS in the White House will find a way to define the target as anyone he considers an enemy, whether at home or abroad.
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Double Oh 44 plots his next, uh, er, global improvement as his baby mama rehearses for her upcoming movie “Michelle bangs Reid.”
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These drones are capable of facial recognition and can tap cell phones of people walking down the street. And most, if not all, cops think this is wonderful.
I can’t understand why there is not one politician who loves this country speaking out against this.
Maybe we ought to get a pool up on who will be the first Tea Party target .... Rush, Sarah, and Michele Bachmann are three good bets. Also Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal.
Get your money up, kids. Croupier Barack is about ready to start raking in the Right.
That's the dead weight of the Money Power and its toy, the Executive Branch.
Given the character of our dear leader, any political enemy of his is in danger.
Both obama and Hillary not only believe the saying,"Dead men tell no tales". That live by it.
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