Nitegazer
Well-Known Member
I don't want to clutter up this thread too much, so don't be offended if I don't respond to your next reply; I just want to clarify what I think are the facts.alawaki junior was NOT targeted. he was in a target zone. the details are sketchy still even a year later. the whitehouse now says they threw 3 missiles at 3 locations they believed al banni was hiding, and alawaki junior was killed by one of them along with several other persons the yemeni govt says were ALSO (besides junior) militants. all 3 target locations were in yemeni territory held by alquaeda forces, not the yemeni government.
again al banni, known terrorist was the target. alawaki junior was a suspect in the target zone, not a target. if he were not a us citizen he would be just another yemeni junior militant, another incidental casualty from a drone strike, and there would be no manufactured outrage.
coincidentally, if the alquaeda clowns didnt hide in neighborhoods then the neigborhoods would be safe.
My understanding of the situation is that Awlaki was targeted--Samir Kahn was the 'collateral damage'. From the NYTimes (you can also Wiki it):
"Other assertions about Mr. Awlaki included that he was a leader of the group, which had become a “cobelligerent” with Al Qaeda, and he was pushing it to focus on trying to attack the United States again. The lawyers were also told that capturing him alive among hostile armed allies might not be feasible if and when he were located.
Based on those premises, the Justice Department concluded that Mr. Awlaki was covered by the authorization to use military force against Al Qaeda that Congress enacted shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — meaning that he was a lawful target in the armed conflict unless some other legal prohibition trumped that authority."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/middleeast/secret-us-memo-made-legal-case-to-kill-a-citizen.html?pagewanted=all