President Obama, Show us the drone memos

[FifthElement]

I like the O'Riley Factor. When I need a good laugh I tune into MSNBC.

Lol, admitting that you are part of the problem is a step in the right direction

[MindForgedManacle]

He should definitely show the memos.

And I have no problem with using drones to remove certain dangers in the world, whether they be US citizens or not.

And, as I've experienced before, those criticising Obama for using drones to target militants are often the loudest supporters of Israel when that nation drops a bomb on a car in a crowded street to eliminate an enemy.

The problem is that there are ALWAYS much more casualties, often innocent or undetermined, in these strikes. Worse, Obama has continued the use of internationally illegal double taps that kill first responders to hit areas.


Kitanetos is right, Obama and most other Democratic politicians are little better than Republicans. Nearly all on both sides are demonstrably in the pockets of large corporations and super PACs, funded by billionares like the Koch brothers, Sauros or Bloomberg. That's why it's no surprise that studies have shown that about 93% of elections are won by the candidate who spent more money, which they acquire by sucking up to those billionaires and corporations. Travesty, really, and this retarded Supreme Court has completely made this happen.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

What's the difference between a drone firing a missile from 30 miles away and an F-18 firing a missile from 30 miles away?

They use X-box controllers.

And x-box games ARE VIOLENT AND TURN PEOPLE AWAY FROM JESUS! WE SHOULD BAN GTA etc etc.

[Esquilax]

What's the difference between a drone firing a missile from 30 miles away and an F-18 firing a missile from 30 miles away?

The F-18s didn't come into prominence during the Obama administration.

[Cinjin]

Meh, they're all in collusion.
We have a criminal government and the freedoms we enjoy are mostly an illusion.

What much of the world doesn't understand is that the US government treats us (it's own citizens) just like it treats the rest of the world: an expendable component unworthy of human consideration. We are part of a money hording, debt-creating, slave-making regime that has absolutely no interest in our general welfare. With smug indignation, they answer to no one and just like some third-world country, if one of us steps out-a-line they simply eliminate him from the equation. To think that one party is slightly better than the other is like comparing a Rattlesnake to a Viper. Both are going to kill you, but one sure seems a little prettier than the other.

A criminal government is a criminal government. Stop kidding yourselves. Fight the real enemy.

[Heywood]

What's the difference between a drone firing a missile from 30 miles away and an F-18 firing a missile from 30 miles away?

The difference is the target.

Obama ordered the execution of an American citizen without due process. We need to know how he justifies the act.

[Coffee Jesus]

In battle, combatants engaged in war against America get no due process and may lawfully be killed. But citizens not in a battlefield, however despicable, are guaranteed a trial by our Constitution.

He notes an exception to the rule without explaining why it's a good exception, then expects us to accept that Obama's exception is somehow unacceptable. His case would have seemed stronger if he had left that out.

I think the memos should be released nonetheless.

But this new legal standard does not apply merely to a despicable human being who wanted to harm the United States. The Obama administration has established a legal justification that applies to every American citizen, whether in Yemen, Germany or Canada.

I find this hard to believe. Its applicability has to be contingent. A law that says the president can kill anyone at any time for any reason would be blatantly unconstitutional.

Those who would make exceptions for killing accused American citizens without trial should give thought to the times in our history when either prejudice or fear allowed us to forget due process. During World War I, our nation convicted and imprisoned Americans who voiced opposition to the war. During World War II, the government interned Japanese-Americans.

Then he compares Obama to Hitler. He hasn't even seen the memos!

[Anomalocaris]

What's the difference between a drone firing a missile from 30 miles away and an F-18 firing a missile from 30 miles away?

The difference is the target.

Obama ordered the execution of an American citizen without due process. We need to know how he justifies the act.

Indeed. There is no justification for bumping off some who is merely suspected of involvement in terrorism, and who is not even a republican.

[Minimalist]

What's the difference between a drone firing a missile from 30 miles away and an F-18 firing a missile from 30 miles away?

The difference is the target.

Obama ordered the execution of an American citizen without due process. We need to know how he justifies the act.

Okay - so your problem isn't the drone...which I suspect will be well on their way to replacing manned aircraft in the future for a lot of reasons...but the target.

However even here you seem a little late to the party.

Kamal Derwish (also Ahmed Hijazi) was an American citizen killed by the CIA as part of a covert targeted killing mission in Yemen on November 5, 2002. The CIA used an RQ-1 Predator drone to shoot a Hellfire missile, destroying the vehicle in which he was driving with five others.[1]

Derwish had been closely linked to the growing religious fundamentalism of the Lackawanna Six, a group of Muslim-Americans who had attended lectures in his apartment near Buffalo, New York.[2][3]

That an American citizen had been killed by the CIA without trial drew criticism.[4] American authorities quickly back-pedaled on their stories celebrating the death of Derwish, instead noting they had been unaware he was in the car which they said had been targeted for its other occupants, including Abu Ali al-Harithi, believed to have played some role in the USS Cole bombing

Much as I imagine you will start back-pedaling now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Hijazi

[Heywood]

The difference is the target.

Obama ordered the execution of an American citizen without due process. We need to know how he justifies the act.

Okay - so your problem isn't the drone...which I suspect will be well on their way to replacing manned aircraft in the future for a lot of reasons...but the target.

However even here you seem a little late to the party.

Kamal Derwish (also Ahmed Hijazi) was an American citizen killed by the CIA as part of a covert targeted killing mission in Yemen on November 5, 2002. The CIA used an RQ-1 Predator drone to shoot a Hellfire missile, destroying the vehicle in which he was driving with five others.[1]

Derwish had been closely linked to the growing religious fundamentalism of the Lackawanna Six, a group of Muslim-Americans who had attended lectures in his apartment near Buffalo, New York.[2][3]

That an American citizen had been killed by the CIA without trial drew criticism.[4] American authorities quickly back-pedaled on their stories celebrating the death of Derwish, instead noting they had been unaware he was in the car which they said had been targeted for its other occupants, including Abu Ali al-Harithi, believed to have played some role in the USS Cole bombing

Much as I imagine you will start back-pedaling now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Hijazi

Why should I back pedal? I haven't condemned Obama for the act. I am reserving that judgment until I know his justification.