If you hate torture, stop drone killing

We have killed approximately 2,400 people in the Middle East with two hundred of them being innocent children from Pakistan. The United States has also killed four Americans so far with drones overseas. We murdered Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and supposed terrorist. A Department of Justice memo somehow supports Awlaki’s killing, saying that it is quite lawful to kill a US citizen overseas if somehow an “informed high-level official” decided that the target was a terrorist. We then murdered his estranged son who went looking for his father, then tried to return to his home, and was killed. More on his son in a little bit. Awlaki had no habeas corpus, no trial. He was deprived of his fourth amendment. People are not supposed to be seized unreasonably by the government. His fifth amendment was also violated. The government cannot deprive someone of life without due process of the law. The sixth amendment was also violated, due to there not being a speedy and public trial, and there was also no habeas corpus. Even though there is a federal law against murder and an executive order banning assassinations, the government decided to murder four American citizens and a couple of thousand Middle Easterners. The United Nations had an investigation into these disproportionate civilian casualties by the US, UK, and Israel. They determined that these countries have violated international law and have to give a report on the civilian casualties.
Anwar al-Awlaki was described as a “leader” who was “continuously” planning attacks against the US. This was without any evidence for claims of due process. He supposedly provided material support to terrorism without any support. He produced tapes on YouTube urging attacks on Americans, but the videos were eventually taken down. He referenced the underwear bomber and cargo jet bomber, but he has no direct role that we know of in either bombing. Awlaki may have been in contact with the underwear bomber, but this has not been proven. The Department of Justice kept this memo hidden until a district court ordered the department to reveal the memo. Forced transparency comes late and few people know about this troubling issue. Drone killings are justified if carried out in accord with laws of war. However, this is not the case. The Authorization to Use Military Force, or AUMF, has no geographic or time limits, and is used against anyone who may pose a threat to US persons and interests. The Department of Justice memo contends that the protection of US citizenship was effectively removed by AUMF. Obama himself has said that this law should be repealed, but he has done nothing to repeal the law. The memo also cites an Israeli Supreme Court Case, PCATI v. Government of Israel, which ruled that the targeted assassinations of hundreds of Palestinians could be justified using the public authorities justification. The public authorities justification permits the government to take action in emergency situations that would otherwise break the law, and an example of this is a police officer firing at a gun. This is dangerous and could justify all government misdeeds. The memo cites these police shootings as precedent, but police investigation are carefully investigated while drone killings are not even investigated. Officers also face punishment while no one in the government faces punishment for drone killing. The memo does not explain how the US knew Anwar was planning “imminent” mayhem. They never questioned whether drone killing follows international law, and they do not care. The memo says his capture was not feasible almost a year before they killed him. How does the government know that his capture was not feasible a year ahead of time. His son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was killed two weeks after his father. He was killed in a cafe with six other innocent people. There was a report that a terrorist would be eating there, but the intended target was not even there. We are killing American citizens in countries that we are not at war with. Robert Gibbs, a former White House secretary defended the strike by saying that his late father irresponsibly joined al Qaeda. This is outrageous. You cannot defend killing someone by saying they had an irresponsible father. The countries do not like the US drone killing in their country. For example, in Pakistan, the US killed Hakimullah Mehsud, a Pakistan Taliban leader, responsible for the deaths of hundreds. His death by drone prompted a wave of popular outrage over the incursion on national sovereignty. Imagine allowing these countries to fly over our cities looking for our “bad guys. To conclude on this topic, drone killing should be stopped, and retribution should be made.

Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.