anwar al-awlaki Archives

A Drone Strike on the Constitution

When President Obama authorized the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, there was much rejoicing. A terrorist was gone, al-Qaeda was dealt a major blow, and vital links between jihadists and the West were broken. In addition to Awlaki, three other men were killed, including Samir Khan, publisher of a Muslim magazine. But more died on that … Continue reading

The Legal Rationale for Whacking Awlaki Is Flimsy

Although the Obama administration’s legal rationale for killing suspected terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki remains classified at a high level, administration officials, under media pressure to justify killing an American citizen without a trial, finally have leaked most of it to the press. Although this is an improvement, unfortunately, this action will probably sate the media’s main … Continue reading

A Dangerous Precedent

Listen to Rep. Ron Paul deliver this address. According to the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Americans are never to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Constitution is not some aspirational statement of values, allowing exceptions when convenient; rather, it is the law of the land. It … Continue reading

Journalism 101: If a US Official Says It, Report It

In Pakistan, according to American officials, strikes from Predators and Reapers operated by the CIA have killed more than 2,000 militants; the number of civilian casualties is hotly debated. In Yemen last month, an American citizen was, for the first time, the intended target of a drone strike, as Anwar al-Awlaki, the Qaeda propagandist and … Continue reading

The Government’s Illusory Terrorist Threat

Now that the big kahuna — Osama bin Laden — has been killed, the “War on Terror” is much less exciting. Even before Osama’s demise, experts sent chills through the massive post-9/11 U.S. government anti-terrorism bureaucracies by concluding that the threat from al-Qaeda had been much weakened by the group’s own bloody excesses against civilians, … Continue reading

I Am a History Teacher, and I Lie to My Students

On Sept. 30, 2011, I woke up and began my daily routine, preparing for another day of teaching history to high school students. In the course of an average school year, I literally teach the history of the world — ancient history, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and modernity. My 11th-grade students take … Continue reading

Assassins of Liberty

The assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki sets the kind of precedent that Americans will come to regret, but for now they cheer, like Romans hailing a death in the arena. Richard Miniter, writing in the Obamaite – and aptly named – Daily Beast, avers that not only was the killing legal, it was also “wise.” He … Continue reading

A Double Standard for the Ultimate Penalty

The execution of a potentially innocent Troy Davis last week justifiably horrified many in the United States and around the world. Most of the non-police eyewitnesses had recanted or contradicted their testimony that he killed an off-duty police officer; they alleged that they had been pressured or coerced by the police to implicate Davis. The … Continue reading

Obama Lawyers Defend ‘Kill Lists’

Lawyers for the Barack Obama administration told a federal judge Monday that the U.S. government has authority to kill U.S. citizens whom the executive branch has unilaterally determined pose a threat to national security. That claim came in federal court in Washington, D.C., in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union … Continue reading

Marked Imam Tests Lawn-Chair Constitutionalists

“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” – Thomas Paine The Constitution is being tested in the most extreme way imaginable: does the federal government really have the right to pursue the … Continue reading