Approved Target Anwar al-Awlaki

John R. Houk
© April 8, 2010

Issues of Concern for Justice & Society (or ICJS) Research has reposted an article by Scott Shayne that appeared in the New York Times concerning adding American-Born citizen Anwar al-Awlaki purportedly living in Yemen as being assigned to the “Approved Target” list of enemies of America that can be terminated by lethal force.

ICJS Research sends articles and essays to gauge a discussion on a target.

In al-Awlaki’s case, he is the first ever American citizen that has been on any assassination list approved by an American President. Note by American law covert assassinations are illegal. Since 9/11 the Approved Target list has been re-warded as to not be an official assassination but rather a military engagement with an enemy of the USA. Hence it is a slick way of assassinating Islamic terrorists operating in the framework of the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

Two things are interesting about Muslim-American al-Awlaki:

1. The home-grown terrorist is an American citizen existing during Obama Administration.

2. Al-Awlaki is a Muslim and President Barack Hussein Obama is doing all he can to eradicate any official lexicon in which Islam is the bad guy.

Can you imagine “Mr. Blame America for everything” and “negotiate peace with no pre-conditions (i.e. appeasement at all costs), have approved an America for termination in a foreign nation?

Here is another question: Can you imagine President BHO that is both trying to create a good image of America with Islam and a person committed to giving foreign captured Islamic enemy combatants all the civil rights of the U.S. Constitution afforded to U.S. citizens, legal aliens and illegal civilian aliens?

I am sure if I sat down and thought about it I could come up with some logical reasons for such an action; however I suspect all the reasons will be through the filter of a Conservative or Neoconservative. Ideas of the Right are officially anathema in the Obama and Leftist Administration.

As you might expect my first reaction to BHO’s Approved Target list is, “Wow! Good for Mr. President for getting something right.” Al-Awlaki is more than an Islamic enemy-terrorist-combatant. He is a traitor to the land of his birth. My right-wing knee-jerk reaction is to shoot the treasonous Political-Islamic ideologue.

Then after I calm down, I realize that I want to be a supporter of the rule of law as disseminated through U.S. Constitutional Law. You see Anwar al-Awlaki is a U.S. citizen. As a citizen al-Awlaki has all the rights and privileges of a Natural Born American citizen. So unlike POW’s in war, al-Awlaki deserves to be tried by a jury of American citizens and proven guilty. Even European democracies have not found this level of Liberty, which is to say: “Innocent until proven guilty.” I believe inherent with Western European jurisprudence one who stands accused move prove one’s innocence.

So there you go. If al-Awlaki is found innocent (doubtful), loose him and let him go. If he is found guilty, then he should suffer the same fate as the traitors Julius and Ethel Rosenberg – capital punishment.

JRH 4/8/10