Comment

PolitiFact | Lieberman says president can approve killing a U.S. citizen who affiliates with terrorists

3
iceweasel6/27/2010 12:09:41 pm PDT

re: #2 imp_62

iceweasel frames the discussion very well, and puts the thoughts I had been having on this issue in words. I have not yet been able to fully think through all the implications, or indeed whether and when the assassination of a citizen by the government can be justified. I certainly don’t believe that an accident of birth should protect dangerous enemies of the people from extreme sanctions. My concerns center on the framework and process for having reached this point. It seems to me that many necessary and important steps have been skipped in allowing this discussion to be held out in the open, and properly vetted by our judicial and legislative institutions. Assassination by executive fiat is an issue that cannot be backed into in the dark if night.

I think your comment was better than mine and framed the issue better. Those are exactly the aspects that trouble me. It’s not that I defend Al-Awlaki— I tried to be very clear that I don’t and want him caught and punished. It’s the precedents this would establish that concern me and the implications.