In your opinion, if you as a citizen happen to be near a suspected terrorist, it's completely OK for you to be killed? What does it take to designate a foreign national as a terrorist? Could anyone be designated a terrorist? Couldn't then anyone be considered "collateral damage"?
Actually, the father was a naturalized citizen and an al Quaeda leader. He was the target of an intentional attack.
His 16 year old natural-born American citizen son was killed as collateral damage in a later attack aimed at another terrorist.
What does it take to be designated a terrorist? I suggest you read the congressional resolution authorizing use of force against anyone the President determines to be involved in the 9/11 attacks or planning similar attacks.
I am probably as disturbed as you by the potential for abuse in such power, but I am curious about what you would recommend as an alternative process for waging war against terrorists. Or should we just ignore them till they attack us, and only then hit back?
Collateral damage is a risk in any military operation. In WWII, at least in theory, we killed hundreds of thousands as collateral damage. Should we have never bombed Germany or Japan because such attacks inevitably involved the killing of thousands of perfectly innocent people?
And, yeah, I think people who hang out with terrorists should run increased risk of death. Don’t want to be blown up? Don’t hang around with terrorists.