**WASHINGTON (CNN) – An American man was among the six suspected al Qaeda terrorists killed by a U.S. missile on Sunday in Yemen, U.S. officials told CNN Friday.
Officials said the CIA did not know that the American, Ahmed Hijazi, was in the vehicle before it launched the “Predator” unmanned aircraft.
“It doesn’t change anything,” an official said. “If you’re an American citizen, it doesn’t mean you get a free pass to be a terrorist.”
Hijazi and five other suspected al Qaeda terrorists were killed by a “Hellfire” missile launched by remote control from a Predator drone. The group was traveling in a car outside the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. **
So, the CIA considers itself free to murder me if a) I’m off U.S. soil and b) they even suspect I’m a terrorist. No arrest, no indictment, no presentation of evidence and defense; straight to execution. Very comforting. Aren’t there international laws against that sort of thing? I know Israel sometimes likes to blow people up rather than arrest them; doesn’t mean we have to.
It really is an actual war. A lot of folks don’t seem to understand that. Al-Qaeida declared war on the US and they have followed up their declaration with multiple attacks. If you had joined the German army during world war two and were riding around with your fellow German soldiers, you’d get shot at by Allied forces. That’s the way it works.
I’m one of those people. There seem to be a lot of folks in government who are a little confused about it too. Sometimes we act as if we’re in a declared war against a sovereign state, which we’re not, and sometimes as if we were engaging in law enforcement. It’s in the nature of terrorism to blur those lines. Unlike the German Army in WWII, Al-Quaida doesn’t have a country, and they don’t wear uniforms. This situation is more like blowing up a number of people whom you suspect of being in the German Army – and having spies do the job, rather than your own Army.
It’s also in the nature of politicians (and the CIA) to use the magic phrase “time of war” to justify whatever they want to do.
All valid points. But there are times when I would rather we deal with our enemies in exactly the manner we did so in this instance. We positively knew who our principle target was in that car. If our choices were blowing him up or letting him get away (i.e not having the forces in place to physically grab him) then I say we made the right choice.
No kind or innocent people died in this attack.
But what happens when our target is not so clear. What if it’s “I think that’s our guy but I don’t know who those people with him are.” We are admitedly fumbling towards new procedures on how to deal with new threats. How can we rapidly decide who is a vital threat (someone who may be on his way to kill hundreds, maybe thousands), how to deal with that threat, and how certain we are that we are correct in all of our assumptions?
Good point – provided arrest was simply not an option. I’ve read that the official Yemen army hasn’t been much help because they’re afraid to go to far into tribal lands in a country that’s like the 12th century with tanks.
I guess I’m feeling frustration because I’m seeing projection of American power, but not of American principles. Personally I think this can only end if there’s democratization in the Arab world, and I don’t see us doing much to encourage that. Bahrain, if I recall, just held parliamentary elections, and I would have liked to see our President hold a press conference to congratulate them, and to pressure other states, such as Saudi Arabia, to consider maybe not being medieval monarchies. (And maybe ask Kuwait when they’re going to give women the vote, like they said they’d do when we saved their ass in 1991.)
You know, this discussion is too civilized for the Pit; I just assumed people would curse at me. Probably should have put it in Great Debates.
Oh horse shit. (You asked for curses; that’s the best you’re going to get out of me.) The first American principle is the preservation of America.
Nobody wants war but sometimes the use of force is both necessary and moral. Invariably war means that the preservation of the union supercedes your right to due process and a fair and speedy trial.
Keep that in mind when convoying with enemies of the state.
No; the first American principle is liberty. People forget that under the pressure of fear and hatred. And thanks, but I didn’t actually ask for cursing; I’ve simply come to expect it. (Actually, “horse shit” isn’t cursing, simply vulgar slang.)
Rights such as due process are not privileges to be handed out or withdrawn as a matter of convenience. They’re rights, and exist whether or not a government chooses to violate them.
And it seems clear that some elements in our government do want war, or else are doing an excellent job of giving that impression.
“Enemies of the state”? Ridiculous phrase. The state isn’t always right; in certain circumstances I might be its enemy. Who’s going to be tomorrow’s enemy of the state, and will the CIA have carte blanche to assassinate them with remote-controlled aircraft?
