On September 30, 2011, a a predator drone hellfire missile attack in Yemen killed a top official of Al-Qaeda official, Anwar al-Awlaki. America is certainly war-weary and every significant blow to the terrorist organization brings us one step closer to ending this threat. Normally, this news would bring emotions of relief and resolution to the American public, and maybe it did. That being said, the death of this man has raised some eyebrows because he is an American citizen, not a foreign national which has been the case in all other air strikes.
Born in 1971 in New Mexico, al-Awlaki has degrees from Colorado State University and San Diego State University. He left the United States shortly after the September 11 attacks and spent a few years in the United Kingdom before moving to Yemen in 2004. He has been dubbed "The Bin Laden" of the Internet due to his success in radicalizing Muslims over the internet. Information suggests he had connections to the Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, the "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and the attempted Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad. The man was certainly a threat to American national security, and threatened innocent men, women, and children across the globe.
That being said, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States states:
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger, nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
This Amendment, a part of the Bill of Rights, guarantees that an American citizen can not be executed for alleged crimes unless the crimes are proven in a court of law (among other things). In other words, every American citizen is entitled to due process. This sacred promise protects citizens from being put to the sword without being able to present evidence in support of their defense, and to have a trial by a competent jury. Mr al-Awlaki was not given that chance. Due to a secret Justice Department memo, the "justification" for circumventing the Constitution was given to the President to carry out this strike and eventual death of an American citizen. This, of course, comes from the same administration who railed against the previous administration for using Justice Department memos finding legality in "advanced interrogation techniques." If these techniques were illegal in the eyes of the current administration, certainly the murder of an American citizen should be considered illegal as well.
I raise this point because most would agree that it certainly is a dangerous precedent to allow the President to be judge, jury, and executioner in respect with American citizens. Am I glad al-Awlaki no longer presents a threat to the American public? Of course. However, no person, not even the President of the United States, should be given that power to kill any member of the citizenry. Due process is a right given to every citizen of the of the United States and should not be circumvented, no matter the circumstances. The American Public should now allow this sort of abuse of the Constitution else risk further abuses on our individual rights.
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