I cannot believe the number of citizens (?) who have no clue what terrorists and war is ? No clue.

Look at your family, your home and your lifestyle, and then remember what it takes to ensure all of that. The old adage, 'ignorance is bliss' ! Where do you think James Bond movies came from, comic books ? That is life. Screw the terrorists and the camel they road in on !!

I agree. It would be one thing if al-Awlaki was encountered by US soldiers on a battlefield pointing a weapon at them. However, al-Awlaki has never been tied to the actual commission of any act of violence against anyone. He has been a very vocal advocate of jihad against the US, but as far as I have seen in the news, they have never tied him in to actually carrying out any attack. What was done here was a political assassination which is illegal under executive order and international law. There was no attempt made to capture al-Awlaki and as far as I have heard, there has never been any arrest warrant issued for him. What was done sets an extremely bad precedent in allowing the president to determine who he thinks is a threat and then authorizing his killing. This is so subject to abuse that it should not be allowed to stand. We have always been a nation of laws and this flies in the face of that concept. What is also being ignored is the fact that another American who was in the vehicle with al-Awlak was also killed. This person also had never been tied to an actual attack or had an arrest warrant issued on him. What was done here is a violation of both US and international law and Obama should be put on trial. Let the courts decide if what Obama did stands up to legal and constitutional muster.

Extrajudicial assassination is not murder. Look up murder, it does not infer self defense, the word is governmental approved killing. It is a tool all countries have to use and many have used when necessary. Please see my further post below.

It looks like we need to try Mr. Obama for crimes against humanity as well as the entire previous administration.

Yadda yadda yadda. WON'T happen, he he! Keep dreaming! One drone. One hit. Bye bye terrorist. DONE.

Why we are we so upset that this turd has been killed? Shouldn't he be doi.nking his seventy-two virgins right about now?????

Ron Paul sir is an idiot.

So let's get this straight, because I really can't believe what I'm hearing. Ron Paul, the authority on exactly nothing, claims that Obama just committed murder... because we purposely killed a U.S. citizen that had joined the enemy we are at war with. To me, if you join the enemy... a formal enemy... this is equivalent to renouncing your citizenship and is EXACTLY (not similar to) becoming the enemy. That gives him or her the same treatment we afford our enemies. Any other treatment would send the wrong message. Such a huge concern here, coming from people that execute our own based on convictions that CANNOT be 100% assured... from people that claim they want people to be responsible for their actions.

This is a slam-dunk.

Ask the people who were killed in 9/11 if they were afforded due process. we are at war and we need to win, period end of story. All civil liberties groups are good for is to weaken this nation by pandering to what ever money some arab oil prince gives them.

We need to uphold our own laws not matter the circumstances so that we do not start ignoring any law we feel like in order to make a point. If the person in question is a US citizen, he needs to be sent to court and thusly tried. We must stick to our laws so that they are true laws instead of convenient laws.

JS in SD - so you would clearly advocate for the trails of Bush and Cheney for the mass murders they committed against innocent Iraqi's, correct??

The man was found guilty in absentia for crimes against the US

I'm glad he is no longer on this earth.................

Have the ACLU and the reporters of this article taken the trouble to examine Al-Awaki's parents' citizenship?

Are they aware that regardless of being born here, a child is the citizenship of the parents? THIS is what the ACLU, particularly ought to be concerned with proving! It is clear in Citizenship and Immigration laws and even can be proven in the Bill of Rights.

There is no such thing as an "anchor baby," and the repetition of that term by activists trying to shove the Illegals in our face are stating a pack of lies.

ACLU not doing their homework is unreal!

That said, the issue of "citizenship" is irrelevant. It is the crime that must be examined. One comment above did get it right. Being returned to Yemen makes continued citizenship here totally unlikely. Think about it. If he is a hotshot member of Al-Qaeda, he'd probably have to adopt Yemen's citizenship. He never came back here.

If he were an American citizen here, he'd be a traitor by fleeing and espousing terrorism against what was briefly his homeland. The act is proof enough. !st degree crime is punishable by death. Our Constitution supports that.

Since I do not believe he is a citizen, he was raised and indoctrinated in Yemen for over 30 years, as a child and adult, and brags about his accomplishments as a "spiritual adviser" in Al-Qaeda. You can be sure he is doing his share of indoctrination of the suicide attacks on targets like the Twin Towers.

Frankly, I think that is even more evil than being a perp himself. He won't bomb himself to kill Americans, but he sure trains sadly brain-dead and naive children of Islam to do it.

Hitler gained his power through popularity. It's naive to think history can't repeat itself and bring in a new charismatic leader like Hitler who then has THESE POWERS ALREADY IN PLACE.

• A media that operates with complete bias and purposely tries to sway the public opinion.
• A Presidential office that can legislate using executive orders.
• A Presidential office that can declare wars without congress.
• A Presidential office that can execute Americans without Due Process
• An Intelligence agency that can monitor all activities of a citizen without a Search Warrant.
• A Police force that is increasingly being militarized. (e.g. the NYPD that can now "take down planes")

You people aren't seeing the forest through the trees. You're acting like sheep.

It would be nice if our civil liberties groups would spend some time outside the US. In third world countries the human life is the cheapest thing there is. Ask China where female babies are still killed, ask Iran and Iraq when they used children to check for mines in front of their tanks, ask India whose rail system is so bad that 10 people a month are killed.

The problem is not that an assassination on a American citizen was made, the problem is that it opens the door so that anyone an administration deems unacceptable can become a target for assassination. This has been done in the past and the media cried foul. Are we, as a nation, now stooping to the level of third world dictatorships? It also tends to get used to further political careers. Look to the 'terrorist watch list' and not allowing certain people to fly. Who puts these names on the lists? Could the lists be used as targets for people whom this and any other administration deems 'troublesome' for reasons other than national security?

To those wanting to try Bush and Cheney for war crimes, perhaps you should also try Obama and NATO, seems those airstrikes have killed a number of civilians.

Ask the people who were killed in 9/11 if they were afforded due process.

Ask any victim of a crime, if they were afforded due process? I think you will find, 100% were not.

But we don't kill them without a trial. Correction. We used to not kill them without a trial.

It's all OK because of Nine Eleven, 9-11!!!!, NIIIIINE ELEVEEEEENNNNN! Praise the LORD JEEEEZUUUUSSSS!

That's right America, because of a single (though reprehensible) act of international terrorism committed by Saudis (why didn't we kill the Saudi Royal family???) we now throw the Constitution into the dustheap of history. Osama Bin Laden would be dancing and singing in paradise if there was such place. By this logic, we should have executed every Asian American at Manzhanar. This is a travesty of justice.

It was an accident.

Almightydollar & Ben Richards: You people are too simple. You will never see the big picture.

I am against any sort of killing, however...this situation certainly saved the taxpayers a lot of money. Most likely, he would have been found guilty, and then there are the endless appeals, etc. Let's move on!

Four Points Shy Of Genius

No offense, you hit the nail on the head with your post. BUT......

I think you can be 4 points shy of a, IQ of 4 and see it.

Almightydollar & Ben Richards: You people are too simple. You will never see the big picture.

Post me the picture.

I think your missing the big picture. If you are accused of a crime you have no problem at all with being executed without a trial?

Or is it you just have no problem at all as long as it's other citizens?

Was this killing a crime?

Yeah, it's a crime it wasn't done sooner.

If it's "legal" to assassinate this guy for terrorism why wouldn't it be "legal" for another country to assassinate G. Bush for killing thousands in the illegal invasion of Iraq? Or Clinton for bombing a pharmaceutical factory in Africa or Obama for killing civilians, including children in Pakistan with drones?

The only difference is we've slaughtered a lot more (and are still doing it now).

The U.S. and other imperial countries have used terrorist tactics for ages.

Operation Mongoose against Cuba in the 1960's was run out of Florida by the CIA.

The U.S. had Operation Phoenix in Viet Nam which assassinated civilians: teachers and professional people.

We created and trained the Contras in the 1980's which were at one point designated a "terrorist" group even by the U.S. state department. The Contras blew up bridges and other infra structure and tortured and slaughtered thousands in central America.

etc. etc.

I'm not saying there aren't some bad people out there that need to be brought to justice but just because an american President or other official says some one or a group is "terrorist" we have a right to chase him down and kill him without any evidence being presented or a trial?

What arrogance. No wonder millions of people around the globe hate us.

Ben Richards - the scary thing here is that only 2 people (like you get it) for every 100 that don't.

REAL SCARY

Arch

Ok maybe 3 people for every 100 - still scary

To all these right wingers or conservatives, I don't want to hear your whining, You have no issues of invading a country for now reason, suddenly you worry about constitutionality here.

Here is my take on this, if US caught this guy in Afghanistan then yes he needs to be prosecuted in court, but if he was with his buddies and preparing to attack US or in enemy armed forces, That means he sold his allegiance to the foreign cause. He could be targeted for assassination, plus he is not in US jurisdiction that court has any influence anyway

Nearly 80%! Unbelievable! I guess we're seeing a real life example of the Pareto principle that 80% of the intelligence on this issue is concentrated in about 20% of the respondents.

Yeah John - You've got nothing to fear.... You've got nothing to fear.... You've got nothing to fear....

I deem you a threat to the USA... hear that drone heading your way?

if he was captured alive then he needs to be tried, but it wasn't case

Look around you Rochelle. Do you have a nice home, family nearby, friends and freedoms? People like this piece of crap preached to anyone who would listen to kill you, your family and all of your friends. He preached to kill every US citizen no matter age or gender. That includes little kids. Do you have children Rochelle? I do and I love them very much. My neighbor has children and I care for them as I do all children. Imagine for a moment that what this guy has preached motivated someone to carry a bomb abroad the plane your Grandmother is on. Now imagine the horror of being blown to pieces or burned to death as the plane falls from the sky. How do you feel now Rochelle? Do you have anger or remorse? I personally feel better that a person like this guy is dead and isn't able to preach his crap anymore. You should feel the same way unless you are an Al-Qaeda sympathizer. And just to keep the facts straight this guy was killed in an airstrike. If he wasn't consorting with an enemy of the USA he wouldn't have been killed in the first place. Let's say he was bowling in Columbus, OH. He would have been safe and probably not an enemy of the USA. See the difference??

Smokey- Wow. I mean, just wow. Do you really believe your own drivel?

Using the deaths of our children to force your ignorantly false rant about 'terrorism' down our throats is the very thing that 'terrorists' hope to impart through acts thereof.

Fearmongering at its greatest, folks!! Smokey here is a pro at it! Just listen to how he/she uses children as a means to incite emotional knee-jerk responses from fellow posters here! Wow, Goebbels would be proud of you!!

How about this, Smokey..........imagine you have kids. Do you already have kids, Smokey?? Are they young, say, under 7 years old?? Are they sweet and innocent, full of life and smiling vigor?? Do they like to play and run and jump and laugh???? Now imagine the sound of distant jet engines far off, away from direct view. Imagine, all of a sudden, the entire area you are standing in with your kids erupts into thundering, roaring flames. The sound is deafening. The sounds of hot metal flying through the air, and the screams of all those around you fill your senses. Imagine the horror of watching your youngest child's skin literally burn off their body as they struggle to even gasp a breath of air despite the searing pain. Imagine a burning shard of metal slicing through your oldest child's arm, severing it completely, resulting in copious amounts of sanguine blood pulsing out onto the street. Then, if you actually have lived through this situation, later soldiers come through your town sending volleys of bullets and shrapnel into your houses and businesses. Imagine the sight of one stray bullet coming through the window, striking your infant in the head, resulting in their cranium being blown clean off. The taste of the 'pink mist' that quickly follows lands on your lips.

Imagine the horror of such terrorism in our neighborhoods. Just imagine.

Well, Smokey, you don't actually have to imagine this at all.

Just go ask an Iraqi mother.

See? Your warmongering rant works both ways. Go ahead, try and refute this post.

The same could apply to Libyan mothers, Afghani mothers, Somali mothers etc.

I'm not sure what your point is, Indy. Nobody is saying we should randomly kill Iraqi children. Your example really failed.

Indy Patriot: You should write a novel. If the terrorist had it their way...what you described would be happening here. Good riddance. Read the Bill of Rights...7th Amendment

Indy Patriot - excellent post. The only thing you left out was imagine this was your own government doing this in the name of fighting "terrorism"

hey idiot - care to post some legal precedence for you blather. One of the biggest farces perpetrated here is that because someone is a "vet" it make their pablum valid. You obviously don't even know what it was you swore to defend.

Oh Carl-1506841.. I swore to defend your dumbass.. How can you call me an Idiot.. you dont know me brother. I protect American citizens that are near and abroad. I protect them fro scum like the Al-Queda network.. This is not a LEGAL BLOG, and I can post what i want. I said what I meant and that was That if YOU, ME, MY MOTHER, BROTHER Or whomever, is a citizen of the US and you go after, or join an organization that goes after American citizens THEN f**k DUE PROCESS... you are now an anemy and you get whats coming to you.... IDIOT

No you stupid ass - you swore to protect and defend the CONSTITUTION. Your own idiotic reply condems you. What a damn fool - I don't want or need some sheeple moron "defending" me, pretending to be a patriot and attempting to claim the moral high when they are to stupid to even realize what a dupe they are. You sir are a nazi and a statist; truly the enemy of liberty.

Here is a little wisdom from one of our founding fathers:

"In questions of power, then, let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." - Thomas Jefferson, The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 (16 November 1798)

carl, get out of the country...we need less people like you here.

Fair copin, fair... and I absolutely agree with you. Sorry, but this is not Combat, or Hogan's heroes. In was it is kill or be killed. Shoot first, and then open your arms and say, "Oops, you shouldn't be there in the first place."

yo "justiceforall", with a mindset like that there will be justice for no one.

Look Carl, the thing is that when the bullets start flying, the last thing you want to think is the rules of engagement. First because our enemies don't follow them and second because in war it is a matter of survival. You want to sit down on your arse and complain about the legality of the issue? Be my absolute guest. But unless you have been at the other side of the barrel or your enemy shooting at you, all your rhetoric as well as your legality speech falls into an empty hole. The way we fight wars have changed since Nam. There is no more a regular army against a regular army like you saw in the Hollywood sagas.

And by the way, if your intention is to destroy my country, my way of life, the birthplace of my family or my house, I won't ask you what passport you carry, I'll shoot you and screw you!! If you think that is not fair, well, "chin up and shove it."

You are kidding, right? He was in Yemen, a country we are not at war with. He was in the strike zone because he was the target.

Check it out DRK-1183578: Yemen asked us to help track him down and we wanted to help them. Their intelligence agencies fingered him for us and gave us permission to take him out. Yemen is on our side. He wanted their citizens killed too.

Thats right wow 49.. Half these people get on these posts and have zero knowledge of what is going on. Thanks for sharing that info with DRK.. Maybe you can get thru to Carl1506841

Yeah - just what we need another inquisition, or do you even know what your quote references?

Just because past presidents acted in similar ways does NOT make it right. What we can not afford is a president that acts outside the rule of law. This was clearly an act beyond any powers deligated to the executive branch by the Constitution. By killing him in this way a little more of the freedoms our forefathers fought died also.

There you go again Carl.. You dont Know what you are talking about.. The PRESIDENT IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN MAKE THAT SPLIT SECOND DECICION WHEN IT COMES TO AN ASSASSINATION

OF AN ENEMY COMBATATANT..DID YOU NOT READ WHERE IT SAID THE COURTS DONT GET INVOVED FOR THAT VERY REASON.. The president is Commander In Chief of our forces and Commander in Chief can make that decision,,... Question.. what would u have done differently??

Hardly need to reply such an obvious fascist as yourself, but I will. The constitution (you know that document you swore to preserve, protect and defend) does not give the executive brand ANY authority to assassinate anyone, much less an American citizen. Once again your ignorance is astounding, as well as frightening.

Just incase you don't know what a fascist is, I've included the Merriam-Webster online dictionary definition for you.

Definition of FASCISM

1:often capitalized: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality — J. W. Aldridge>

And to answer your last question - I would abide by the constitution. Due process requires the trial of the accused in an open court, not assassination by fiat.

we are at war with the Islamic terrorists - just like we are at war with the sky, remember...

WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Yeah Dumb a$$ - you are the exact reason the founders put the restraints they did in our constitution. To stifle would be tyrants like you. Thanks for reminding me of why I am even bothering to post on this blog.

"Dreamland" is our democracy a s s h o l e! Too bad all you loud-mouthed fascist thugs don't find a time machine and take you macho a s s e s back to '33 Germany. I'm sure you tough guys would feel right at home murdering Jews and any other deemed "enemies of the state" by Hitler and his gang of thugs! It's real easy to cower behind a computer screen and call people names like "liberal fools" or "wimps" or "spineless". Only cowards do that. Call me those names to my face and I'll slap your fat ass in the dirt. You Goddamn cowards!

Keith Hull - What is your point? A self proclaimed enemy of the USA was killed in an airstrike. Do you have a beef with that? I don't like name calling anymore than the next guy but your comment doesn't come off any better than the dummy you're screaming at.

Hey Keith clown, the US has never tried to stop in the middle of a war and deliver arrest warrants on an enemy it is fighting, whether that foreign enemy was a US citizen or not.

US citizens have fought on the wrong side in previous wars, they're just another combatant as long as the war is going on.

Hull - better get checked for rabies. You're slathering on your keyboard and adding absolutely nothing to the discussion.

Obviously Keith Hull's points were to subtle for the likes of Smokey, Chesty and dik. Maybe I can elucidate. The actions of the government were fascist in nature - and since you are such voracious supporters of that action it can be surmised then that you support fascism.

Oh, and Bill be sure to bend over and crack a big smile when they come for you - PAL!

Good question Chesty. I think the answer is that they're not capable of the intellectual challenge to create a 'better and more productive place to live' for themselves. Its far easier to attack others, destroy and murder innocent civilians. Not surprising since the Islamic fundamentalists are living by a primitive set of rules that treat 50% of the population (the feminine half) as property.

So, after reviewing these comments. My interpretation is that we are at war on a religion? I do not know your religious affiliation, but assuming its Christian... You are making your own war on Islam, your own holy war.

Every religion has its extremist group, it is not individually characteristic of Islam. Case point - Ireland vs. Northern Ireland, CHRISTIAN sanctioned terrorist groups.

Ethnocentrism is a veil of insolence.