It may not be a popular POV on FR, but I can find nothing in the Constitution or the laws whereby the military of the US is obliged to inquire into the citizenship of legitimate military targets before attacking.
Whether they are actually legitimate and legal targets is an entirely different question, of course, and this sort of targeted attack is certainly open to abuse. But if they are proper targets, and they are American citizens, they are traitors as well as enemies, and I’ll lose no sleep over their demise.
I think you are confused.
These are not people killed on a battlefield, but in their homes.
I do remember the Constitution saying quite a bit about due process for citizens.
You better read the Constitution again. The military has NO authority to kill any US citizen who is guilty of nothing but having an asshole for a father.
Agreed. One commentor talked about them being in ‘their homes’. BS. Americans fighting/planning for Al Qaeda or its affiliates outside of the US are fair game because terrorism is a state of war without all the niceties of a formal declaration of war.
If they are demonstratively our enemies, then we have every right to kill them wherever they are. If they bring their kiddies along for the show, tough shit. That’s why someone created the word “collateral damage”, just to fit situations like this.
Besides, taking you kids into a war zone is an act of “child abuse”, something that Moslem fanatics are good at.
Many moons ago, the US developed the legal concept of the “long arm” law/reach. It was designed to enable the government/law enforcement to go outside of American borders in order to get the bad guys.
Today it exists in partially modified form, i.e., using Interpol warrants and world War Crimes tribunals as authorities sanctioning this tactic (esp. for Yugoslavia war criminals).
Israel used it in kidnapping mass murderer Adolf Eichmann from Argentina so he could stand trial in Israel for WW2 genocide. Would you really have expected Argentina, the home of many Nazis/war criminals protected by the fascist family of the Perons and their successors, to hand over Eichmann or any other Nazi War Criminal? Don’t think so. They wouldn’t betray their friends and bribery donors.
I actually prefer the old WW2/post WW2 tactic some British commandos used on Nazi war criminals in Europe. Hunt them down and kill them. Two to the head and walk away.
Worked for them. Works for me.
I would probably tend to agree with you if your definition if traitor was being used, and there was oversight.
But give captain 0 the authority to name who is combatant and the basis with no ability to hold him accountable is beyond creepy.
Remember, Holder claims that POTUS has the authority to kill US citizens in the US without due process.