Comparing the OBL and Awlaki Killings

The New York Times recently reported on the secret memo justifying the assassination of an American citizen. It stated:

The memorandum is said to declare that in the case of a citizen, it is legally required to capture the militant if feasible — raising a question: was capturing Mr. Awlaki in fact feasible?

It is possible that officials decided last month that it was not feasible to attempt to capture him because of factors like the risk it could pose to American commandos and the diplomatic problems that could arise from putting ground forces on Yemeni soil. Still, the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan demonstrates that officials have deemed such operations feasible at times.

Charlie Savage makes a good point, referencing the action against OBL in Pakistan. If officials deemed the operation against a non-American citizen in Pakistan feasible, why did they not deem a capture attempt in Yemen feasible, especially if it is true that the the secret memo legally required it? The American military has certainly captured many "enemy combatants" and, in years past, it even launched a major military campaign against a country to capture Manuel Noriega and place him on trial. Charlie Savage's question is a good one. If the U.S. was willing to insert commandos to capture/kill OBL, why was it not willing to do the same to capture an American?

Was it feasible? Did we have the capability? Taking a look at the Wikipedia page's map, we see that Pakistan allowed the use of military facilities to American forces. It's reported that only a few hundred American troops were allowed inside the country. The Wiki map also shows that more than a thousand American troops are located in neighboring Afghanistan, and more than a thousand more across the water in Bahrain.

Yemen, according to the map, has no American troops and does not allow the use of its military facilities. Like Pakistan, however, there are more than a thousand troops reportedly in neighboring Oman and more than a thousand more across the water in Africa. Additionally, Yemen has a great deal of coastal area, and American naval vessels have reportedly been operating in the area for anti-piracy actions.

American naval vessels can launch helicopters and other aircraft.

The strike carried out against the American in Yemen, was done a few hundred miles from the Gulf of Aden. The capture/kill operation in Pakistan was done a few hundred miles from Kabul.

The United States was partnered with Pakistan against OBL, though the fidelity of that partnership has been consistently questioned. The Pakistani military did not itself capture OBL. The U.S. was also partnered with Yemen against the American. The Yemenis had previously captured and released him.

The Pakistanis were not pleased with the United States following the OBL raid. The Yemenis, however, did not apparently voice any concern following the killing. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Yemen does not.

The New York Times reported that the strike against the American was delayed until he was "on a road away from populated areas." The capture/kill raid on OBL was conducted near a Pakistani military facility in a populated city, and one Pakistani tweeted the presence of a helicopter during the operation. OBL's body was reportedly transported to a naval vessel.

It will be interesting to see how this debate continues.

Bipartisan Voices Want Legal Reasoning from POTUS on American Assassinations

It appears a Washington Post article details a growing bipartisan urging of the administration to release its declassified memo citing the legal justifications for assassinating an American citizen without charge or trial. Certainly the legal reasoning can't itself be classified. I hope our government provides this reasoning for public examination.

UPDATE: apparently some are discussing the secret legal memo and giving clues to its reasoning. Interestingly, the memo reportedly claims that Awlaki would have had to be captured if feasible. The recent New York Times story, Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen, states:

The memorandum is said to declare that in the case of a citizen, it is legally required to capture the militant if feasible — raising a question: was capturing Mr. Awlaki in fact feasible?

It is possible that officials decided last month that it was not feasible to attempt to capture him because of factors like the risk it could pose to American commandos and the diplomatic problems that could arise from putting ground forces on Yemeni soil. Still, the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan demonstrates that officials have deemed such operations feasible at times.

UPDATE 2: Bruce Ackerman has a good article over on his Foreign Policy blog.

Citizens Claim America is Dead - Our Freedom Assassinated

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, former assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury under Reagan, economist and co-founder of Reaganomics, and former editor/writer for The Wall Street Journal, wrote in an article yesterday entitled The Day America Died, which begins with, "September 30, 2011 was the day America was assassinated."

His article ends with:

Readers ask me what they can do. Americans not only feel powerless, they are powerless. They cannot do anything. The highly concentrated, corporate-owned, government-subservient print and TV media are useless and no longer capable of performing the historic role of protecting our rights and holding government accountable. Even many antiwar Internet sites shield the government from 9/11 skepticism, and most defend the government’s "righteous intent" in its war on terror. Acceptable criticism has to be couched in words such as "it doesn’t serve our interests."

Voting has no effect. President "Change" is worse than Bush/Cheney. As Jonathan Turley suggests, Obama is "the most disastrous president in our history." Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate who stands up for the Constitution, but the majority of Americans are too unconcerned with the Constitution to appreciate him. To expect salvation from an election is delusional. All you can do, if you are young enough, is to leave the country. The only future for Americans is a nightmare.

Justin Rainmondo, author and one internet anti-war activist, recently wrote in an article Assassins of Liberty, with this similarly dreadful conclusion:

The assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki sets an important precedent, one that will go down in our history as a shameful moment, a turning point, when the policy of endless war empowered the President to kill his own countrymen without benefit of trial. Any American, whose “preaching” purportedly “inspires” a terrorist act is now fair game for our Praetorians. The first time we take out an American citizen on American soil, on the mere suspicion that he may be a “terrorist,” our legal eagles will point to the al-Awlaki case as justification. That a citizen of this country may be put on a list that marks him for death, without public trial, seals the doom of our old republic. Obama’s partisans hail his great “victory,” while their neoconservative rivals do the same – and there is no one left to wonder what has happened to the Constitution.

As America enters a period of travail, when the prospect of economic and civil turmoil becomes all too real, this precedent is terrifying. That the President may order the death of an American without due process of law means that the concept of law is no longer operative: it signals the end of the America we knew, and loved, and the beginning of … something else.

As public servants, our oaths to the Constitution are essential for defending America. I hope those of us who serve will re-dedicate ourselves to the promises we made before God and the American people. When we in government obey the rule of law, even when inconvenient, perhaps we can change the minds of these two writers and others who feel that America is dead and gone. While I am very worried about my country, unlike the authors above I believe it's not too late for the greatness of America to be restored. It will just take the best among us forsaking our comfortable distractions, remembering what it means to be an American, and then rescuing the nation we the People created.

American Voices from the Past - Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry, one of the Founding Fathers of America, was one of the most vocal critics of the pre-Bill of Rights Constitution. He argued against its ratification in Virginia, as he did not believe it protected the liberties of citizens. He was later instrumental in getting the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments, passed so that these liberties would be the Supreme Law of the Land.

Some of his reasoning is important for our consideration today. Speaking of the Constitution on June 5th, 1788 (before the ratification of the Bill of Rights) he said:

It is radical in this transition; our rights and privileges are endangered, and the sovereignty of the states will be relinquished: and cannot we plainly see that this is actually the case? The rights of conscience, trial by jury, liberty of the press, all your immunities and franchises, all pretensions to human rights and privileges, are rendered insecure, if not lost, by this change, so loudly talked of by some, and inconsiderately by others. Is this tame relinquishment of rights worthy of freemen? Is it worthy of that manly fortitude that ought to characterize republicans? It is said eight states have adopted this plan. I declare that if twelve states and a half had adopted it, I would, with manly firmness, and in spite of an erring world, reject it. You are not to inquire how your trade may be increased, nor how you are to become a great and powerful people, but how your liberties can be secured; for liberty ought to be the direct end of your government.

Having premised these things, I shall, with the aid of my judgment and information, which, I confess, are not extensive, go into the discussion of this system more minutely. Is it necessary for your liberty that you should abandon those great rights by the adoption of this system? Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessing — give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else! But I am fearful I have lived long enough to become an old-fashioned fellow. Perhaps an invincible attachment to the dearest rights of man may, in these refined, enlightened days, be deemed old-fashioned; if so, I am contented to be so. I say, the time has been when every pulse of my heart beat for American liberty, and which, I believe, had a counterpart in the breast of every true American;... But, sir, a number of the people of this country are weak enough to think these things are too true. I am happy to find that the gentleman on the other side declares they are groundless. But, sir, suspicion is a virtue as long as its object is the preservation of the public good, and as long as it stays within proper bounds: should it fall on me, I am contented: conscious rectitude is a powerful consolation. I trust there are many who think my professions for the public good to be real. Let your suspicion look to both sides. There are many on the other side, who possibly may have been persuaded to the necessity of these measures, which I conceive to be dangerous to your liberty. Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.
In a remarkably relevant section, Henry continues:

Whither is the spirit of America gone? Whither is the genius of America fled? It was but yesterday, when our enemies marched in triumph through our country. Yet the people of this country could not be appalled by their pompous armaments: they stopped their carer, and victoriously captured them. Where is the peril, now, compared to that? Some minds are agitated by foreign alarms. Happily for us, there is no real danger from Europe; that country is engaged in more arduous business: from that quarter there is no cause of fear: you may sleep in safety forever for them. Where is the danger? If, sir, there was any, I would recur to the American spirit to defend us; that spirit which has enabled us to surmount the greatest difficulties: to that illustrious spirit I address my most fervent prayer to prevent our adopting a system destructive to liberty. Let not gentlemen be told that it is not safe to reject this government. Wherefore is it not safe? We are told there are dangers, but those dangers are ideal; they cannot be demonstrated.

Patrick Henry demonstrates how vitally important our Bill of Rights, and our right to trial by jury, to keep and bear arms, freedom of speech, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and right to "due process of law" were to early Americans when they were deciding whether or not to ratify our Constitution.

Whispers of an Important Debate - Jake Tapper & Responsible Journalism

It's good to see that at least some journalists are taking their responsibilities seriously. This is the most important discussion facing our nation today. Good on this ABC reporter, who says in this video that it's good for the current administration that most Americans don't care about the Constitution. Andrew Cohen is another good reporter, discussing the absence of the judiciary in this discussion.

This is My Country - Benjamin Franklin

I am a Master Mason, a Freemason, and I believe that America is a Masonic experiment. I greatly fear that the experiment is in the gravest danger. I believe our country, and our great experiment, is in peril because inferior men have thwarted the design of the Grand Architect, and have risen to power with their greed and self interest as their primary sights. I'm not talking of one religion versus another religion, or all versus no religion. I don't reference one party over another, or subscribe to one ideology or another. Rather, I proclaim American liberty. Those in the King's court are ambitious and the most "ideal" among them, justify their treason by their desire to keep their heads, or more often than not in our relatively "free" situation, their desire to adorn their heads with silver. As my Brother Franklin says, we are in a bad spot, men in high places have abandoned the values of America, greed and selfishness have replaced our national identity. Men who have the means to do better, who have educations, could do the right thing for their country. But they choose not to, because it's not worth it to them.

But there is hope that Americans will realize their birthright and rise to the occasion, to turn this situation around. Using the power granted us by my Brother Founding Fathers in our Constitution, we can continue the experiment. There is no time for delay, we are in crisis, and America is in her death throes while most of the citizenry watches Jersey Shore and makes fantasy football picks.

I agree with my brother Benjamin Franklin... This is my country, created by my enlightened Brothers, and I will be damned before I let the artful and designing, bolstered by the common ignorant and cowardly, take my country from us and turn it into some third world country. My Brethren created America, after long and thoughtful trial and tribulation against arrogance and power and superstition, and I will die before I contribute to its destruction by the ignorant who are unaware of those tribulations, and the immoral who simply don't care. I took an oath before God to preserve the United States of America. As requested by my Brothers who penned the law requiring me to do so.

Mark the tapes.

American Voice From Now - Very Sad Day for America

Today reminds me of 9/11, where people treated events without thinking, without regard to the law or what was right, and without considering the war that faced them and how to win it.

Today is a remarkably sad day for America, and our enemies rejoice. They have struck a massive blow to America (I pray to God it's not fatal), while our citizens rejoice at their nation's destruction.

The question that is unasked is this: if we are able to kill every superstitious cave dweller who hates the current American government's actions, at the cost of the Constitution and liberties of America, have we won or lost?

I fear that those in America, who do not love or actually care about America, are giving America to our enemies, as they have no use for it. They do so for a handful of silver, like Judas. This is an incredibly sad day for our country.

American Voices from the Past - Samuel Bryan

Interesting paper published in Pennsylvania in October of 1787, while debates raged on whether or not individual States should ratify the Constitution (which did not yet contain the Bill of Rights). Samuel Bryan wrote "Centinel," Number 1 and argued that Pennsylvanians already enjoyed rights to a jury trial, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and were being asked to instead sign onto a Constitution that did not guarantee those rights and which gave great power to a federal government. Thankfully visionaries like him were able to get a Bill of Rights established to protect the People, prior to the Constitution being ratified. His paper has one particularly resonating section on just how important such liberty protections are:

If ever free and unbiased discussion was proper or necessary, it is on such an occassion.--All the blessings of liberty and the dearest privileges of freemen, are now at stake and dependent on your present conduct. Those who are competent to the task of developing the principles of government, ought to be encouraged to come forward, and thereby the better enable the people to make a proper judgment; for the science of government is so abstruse, that few are able to judge for themselves: without such assistance the people are too apt to yield an implicit assent to the opinions of those characters, whose abilities are held in the highest esteem, and to those in whose integrity and patriotism they can confide: not considering that the love of domination is generally in proportion to talents, abilities, and superior acquirements: and that the men of the greatest purity of intention may be made instruments of despotism in the hands of the artful and designing. If it were not for the stability and attachment which time and habit gives to forms of government, it would be in the power of the enlightened and aspiring few, if they should combine, at any time to destroy the best establishments, and even make the people the instruments of their own subjugation.

This work is part of the book, "The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates" by Ralph Ketcham.

Song of the Open Road & My Best Friend

I am facing by far the biggest battle of my entire life. I risk all that I have worked for these fifteen years. I risk my life, my liberty, and my financial well being. My wonderful wife agrees with my stance and supports me in this important battle. I knew there was a reason I had exceedingly high standards for a companion, and those standards led me to believe I would spend my life alone. When I met her, I was amazed that I had found a person who not only measured up, but exceeded those standards. It has proven a real source of humility these past eight years. I didn't expect that.

We made our own wedding bands, having engraved within them symbols of our independent values. Two different rings with one symbol in common. Her wedding band shows two companions on horseback on a winding road, a tribute to the poem from Walt Whitman that she had read aloud at our wedding, Song of the Open Road.

Some of those words are reassuring to me now:

Allons! whoever you are, come travel with me!	115
Traveling with me, you find what never tires.
The earth never tires;
The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first—Nature is rude and incomprehensible at first;
Be not discouraged—keep on—there are divine things, well envelop’d;
I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.	120
Allons! we must not stop here!
However sweet these laid-up stores—however convenient this dwelling, we cannot remain here;
However shelter’d this port, and however calm these waters, we must not anchor here;
However welcome the hospitality that surrounds us, we are permitted to receive it but a little while.
10 Allons! the inducements shall be greater;	125
We will sail pathless and wild seas;
We will go where winds blow, waves dash, and the Yankee clipper speeds by under full sail.
Allons! with power, liberty, the earth, the elements!
Health, defiance, gayety, self-esteem, curiosity;
Allons! from all formules!	130
From your formules, O bat-eyed and materialistic priests!
The stale cadaver blocks up the passage—the burial waits no longer.
Allons! yet take warning!
He traveling with me needs the best blood, thews, endurance;
None may come to the trial, till he or she bring courage and health.	135
Come not here if you have already spent the best of yourself;
Only those may come, who come in sweet and determin’d bodies;
No diseas’d person—no rum-drinker or venereal taint is permitted here.
I and mine do not convince by arguments, similes, rhymes;
We convince by our presence.	140
11 Listen! I will be honest with you;
I do not offer the old smooth prizes, but offer rough new prizes;
These are the days that must happen to you:
You shall not heap up what is call’d riches,
You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve,	145
You but arrive at the city to which you were destin’d—you hardly settle yourself to satisfaction, before you are call’d by an irresistible call to depart,
You shall be treated to the ironical smiles and mockings of those who remain behind you;
What beckonings of love you receive, you shall only answer with passionate kisses of parting,
You shall not allow the hold of those who spread their reach’d hands toward you.

American Worth

"No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause."

- The Great American, Rough Rider, Teddy Roosevelt

There is nothing I can add. End of blog post.