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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLA Times: John Brennan's killer drones are new symbol of America in the world
By David Horsey
February 8, 2013, 5:00 a.m.
It is certainly not what he hoped or intended, but one of President Obamas biggest legacies in foreign affairs may prove to be the proliferation of drones as tools of war, assassination and terror.
Obama is not the first to use drones to strike enemy targets, but the 300 attacks that have occurred on his watch are six times the number carried out under President George W. Bush. A new set of guidelines that give the president broad discretion in approving execution by drones, coupled with the current congressional hearings on the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director, have brought the drone debate front and center.
Civil libertarians and activists on the left see the use of missile-firing drones to take out suspected terrorists as a threat to the rule of law. They are particularly concerned that American citizens, such as Al Qaeda propagandist Anwar Awlaki, have been killed in drone strikes without a finding of guilt and sentencing in a U.S. court. At the opening of his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Brennan -- who, as Obamas counterterrorism advisor, has managed the deadly drone missions for four years -- was met by protesters shouting, Assassination is against the Constitution! You are betraying democracy!
Opponents of the drone attacks are making a principled point. A government free to kill citizens at will is truly the worst kind of Big Government nightmare. But few of the usual anti-government folks on the right are concerned about the drone hits. They consider the remote control killing of Al Qaeda operatives as completely justified, the equivalent of doing battle in a declared war, and any American who has joined the other side is merely getting what he deserves. .............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-killer-drones-20130207,0,7056065.story
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LA Times: John Brennan's killer drones are new symbol of America in the world (Original Post)
marmar
Feb 2013
OP
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Where does it end? What more will they assign themselves?
Fire Walk With Me
Feb 2013
#2
Who needs the rule of law when we have a president who can decide for us?
Tierra_y_Libertad
Feb 2013
#3
Fire Walk With Me
(38,893 posts)2. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Where does it end? What more will they assign themselves?
This is your cue to google "NDRP".
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)3. Who needs the rule of law when we have a president who can decide for us?
Besides, the rule of law is for wusses and civilized countries not badass empires.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)4. K&R