Incompetence. It seems like the current administration just can’t amass enough of it lately.
Eric Holder, Attorney General, stated earlier this week that the President has legal authority to authorize the killing of US citizens. Umm… say what?
“The administration is asserting the authority to kill any American whom the president declares to be an enemy of the state,” said Jameel Jaffer, a national security attorney with the ACLU. “That’s a breathtaking assertion.” ((http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/05/world/la-fg-holder-awlaki-20120306))
For the record, the only other administration that said anything even remotely similar was President Abraham Lincoln’s during the civil war. And even then, he said it should be under combat situations only.
Generally, due process guarantees the following (this list is not exhaustive):
- Right to a fair and public trial conducted in a competent manner
- Right to be present at the trial
- Right to an impartial jury
- Right to be heard in one’s own defense
- Laws must be written so that a reasonable person can understand what is criminal behavior
But, according to the Obama administration, if you’re labeled as a terrorist, you have no rights. Even if you are an American citizen. We’re going to send a drone over to turn you into a pink mist. Silly terrorist, you should have known better!
So if you’re an American citizen and you’re suspected of being a terrorist, you get no fair trial. The government doesn’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt your guilt to an impartial jury of your peers. None of that. You simply get a welcoming party consisting of shrapnel and explosives.
But wait, none of this applies to me, because I live here in the US. I’m safe, right? Well, according to FBI Director Robert Mueller, he’s “not certain if that was addressed or not.” See for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkx8Grgo0_s
Wow. Will nobody stand up to an executive branch who is asserting powers that it doesn’t possess?
Sound off below.
Aaron Graves
Aaron Graves is a veteran and a staunch libertarian, consistently breaking ranks with his Conservative friends on social issues, and with his Liberal friends on economic issues. He is also the guy that wrote the crap that you just read. Sic Semper Tyrannis
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While I have nothing to say which could be construed as suggesting the 0bama Administration is in any way competent or the argument which they have made is valid, there is a case to be made.
American Persons (Citizens and Legal Immigrants) enjoy the protections of the American Legal system within the borders of the United States. Our citizens outside our borders are subject to the legal system which pertains where they are.
The Customary Laws of Warfare apply wherever armed conflict is ongoing.
United States persons making war on the United States as members or affiliates of al Qaeda or the Taliban are subject to the Customary Laws of Warfare, and thus subject to engagement as hostiles wherever (outside of the United States and its territories) they may be located.
Within the United States (and our sovereign territories) Due Process under Federal Law pertains.
I could understand armed conflict. If we encounter armed troops on the battlefield, that’s a different story. Speaking from experience in Afghanistan, that happened exactly 0 times. If we went and captured somebody, it was based on intel reports, or “eye witness statements.” But if you understand how things work in Afghanistan… if you really aren’t too fond of your neighbor, it’s nothing for you to go to the nearest US base and inform them that your neighbor is aiding the terrorists. Next thing you know, he’s arrested and whisked away.
American citizens, no matter where they are located, should be allowed due process if it is their own government that is intending on doing them harm. If there is hard enough evidence, a grand jury would indict.
To me, an American citizen has the guarantee of due process. His government should not have the ability to strip him of that guarantee simply by naming him an “enemy combatant.”
quote “Our citizens outside our borders are subject to the legal system which pertains where they are.” unquote
You’re full of shit. It was settled in the Supreme Court long ago. Americans in a foreign country still have the Constitutional guaranteed rights. Typical American citizen terminal stupidity. Now, pardon me while I go puke.