Originally published by San Diego News Room, July, 2010
What I am about to tell you would, under most circumstances, sound like the pipe dream of a “Right-Wing wacko” conspiracy theorist. But I don’t think anyone will ever accuse the New York Times and Washington Post of being conservative and they both reported this on the same day. Yet, that’s not the real news. The real news is the fact that I and so many others missed this report. The story is several months old, but I heard nothing about it back then and I hear little about it now:
New York Times April 7, 2010
The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of authorizing the targeted killing of an American citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly participating in them, intelligence and counter terrorism officials said Tuesday. . . .
American counter terrorism officials say Mr. Awlaki is an operative of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the affiliate of the terror network in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. They say they believe that he has become a recruiter for the terrorist network, feeding prospects into plots aimed at the United States and at Americans abroad, the officials said.
It is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be approved for targeted killing, officials said. A former senior legal official in the administration of George W. Bush said he did not know of any American who was approved for targeted killing under the former president. . . .
“The danger Awlaki poses to this country is no longer confined to words,” said an American official, who like other current and former officials interviewed for this article spoke of the classified counter terrorism measures on the condition of anonymity. “He’s gotten involved in plots.”
Although disturbing in its own right, when we consider the fact that Homeland Security Advisor, Janet Napolitano has a much wider definition of people groups that might spawn terrorism, I find myself even more jittery. American citizens may understandably (and unfortunately) forget about our constitution when the government goes after 9/11 type Middle East cutthroats, but Napolitano also expresses concern for groups like veterans, Pro-Life Advocates, those concerned about protecting our borders, and those who resent large government.(See Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment) No, she is not accusing them of being terrorists, but she is suggesting that such ideologies run the potential of inspiring terrorism.
I hope I’m not alone in finding this a harrowing development, a threat to our Republic, one hundred percent unconstitutional, and arguably the most dangerous development in American history. But just in case you aren’t grasping the big picture, let me spell it out more plainly: Our president believes he has the right to order the assassination of American citizens without any due process, so long as they are suspected of terrorism. This same president works with a security advisor who holds a disturbing view of where to watch for terrorists. God save us.
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