The Resurrection of Barack Obama

About halfway through President Obama’s drone speech, I nearly threw in the towel and changed the channel back to HGTV. After all, why should I sit there and listen to out-and-out lies – and miss the latest episode of “Rehab Addict“? What set me off was the part starting with this line: “Journalists should not … Continue reading “The Resurrection of Barack Obama”

Drones and Death Lists: The New Face of Warfare

Watching Senator John McCain foam at the mouth with his calls for war against Syria reminds one that President Barack Obama has done well to resist strident demands from congress and the media to use the U.S. armed forces in a direct role to remove President Bashar al-Assad. Which is not intended to suggest that … Continue reading “Drones and Death Lists: The New Face of Warfare”

Targeted Killings in the Drone War – Illegal and Unconstitutional

Up until recently, we were all laboring under the illusion that U.S. Pakistani “friends” had reluctantly agreed to allow the United States kill al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban with drone attacks on their soil in exchange for bucket loads of cash in foreign aid. Now we find out that, right from the start, the … Continue reading “Targeted Killings in the Drone War – Illegal and Unconstitutional”

The President’s Privileged Right to Kill

Does the government work for us, or do we work for the government? How can the president claim the lawful power to kill whomever he wishes and at the same time ask Congress to incapacitate our ability to defend ourselves against those who might seek to kill us? Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul struck a raw … Continue reading “The President’s Privileged Right to Kill”

Finally, the Backlash Against Drones Takes Flight

Rand Paul’s marathon 13-hour filibuster was not the end of the conversation on drones. Suddenly, drones are everywhere, and so is the backlash. Efforts to counter drones at home and abroad are growing in the courts, at places of worship, outside air force bases, inside the UN, at state legislatures, inside Congress–and having an effect … Continue reading “Finally, the Backlash Against Drones Takes Flight”

Sitzkrieg on the Potomac

In 1939 Germany blitzkrieged into Poland and France and Britain declared war. The Germans divided the conquered country with their ally, Stalin’s Soviet Union, and the two belligerents mopped up Polish resistance, a process that subsequently included the slaughter of twenty-two thousand Polish officers and intelligentsia by the Russians at Katyn Forest. France missed the … Continue reading “Sitzkrieg on the Potomac”

Rand Paul’s Drone Crusade Needs a Slight Adjustment

The media seemed to treat Rand Paul’s query to Attorney General Eric Holder about the targeting with drones of U.S. citizens on American soil as kinda kooky – that is, implying that it could never happen in the great United States. Nationalistic war hawks, such as Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain, also pooh poohed … Continue reading “Rand Paul’s Drone Crusade Needs a Slight Adjustment”

Obama’s Secret Court for Killing

President Obama willingly admits he dispatched CIA agents to kill an American and his teenage son and the son’s American friend while they were in a desert in Yemen in 2011. He says he did so because the adult had encouraged folks to wage war on the United States and the children were just “collateral … Continue reading “Obama’s Secret Court for Killing”

Obama’s Drone War Could Legally Kill Americans But Not Anywhere

Although so far, President Obama seems to have less warlike inclinations than George W. Bush (perhaps damning by faint praise) – getting out of Iraq, finally scheduling to mostly pull out of Afghanistan, and going against all national security advisers by refusing to lethally arm Syrian rebels – in one area he seems more bellicose. … Continue reading “Obama’s Drone War Could Legally Kill Americans But Not Anywhere”