United States President Barack Obama has called the killing of Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki a "major blow to al-Qaeda's most active operational affiliate" but offered no apologies for the unprecedented manner in which he was killed."We will be determined, we will be deliberate, we will be relentless, we will be resolute in our commitment to destroy terrorist networks that aim to kill Americans," Obama told reporters in Washington.
Sad, pathetic, ironic, inhuman. If I’m not mistaken, and I’m not, Awlaki was himself an American. And #Compromise aimed to and did kill him. At any rate, Assassins R Us is not something to crow about in actual human society.
John Brennan, Obama's top White House counter-terrorism adviser, pointed to new fronts in the war in a speech last month at Harvard."We reserve the right to take unilateral action if or when other governments are unwilling or unable to take the necessary actions themselves," he said.
Still, Brennan conceded that "international legal principles, including respect for a state's sovereignty and the laws of war, impose important constraints on our ability to act unilaterally and on the way in which we can use force in foreign territories".
That is some serious double-speak. Or is he hinting that "international legal principles, including respect for a state's sovereignty and the laws of war" are in our way?
And by the way, Awlaki was not the only US citizen assassinated in that air raid.
The 40-year-old al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen's al-Jawf province along with another US citizen, Samir Khan, the co-editor of al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine and Ibrahim al-Asiri, the organisation's top bomb-maker.Khan, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, was a specialist in computer programming and was also wanted by both the US and Yemeni governments.
[...]
Al-Awlaki's death will be seen by many as the biggest success in the Obama administration's intensified campaign to take out al-Qaeda's leadership since the killing in May of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
All hail the Assassin in Chief.
Obama said Awlaqi was the leader of external operations of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and had taken the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans.His killing was a tribute to the US intelligence community and to Yemen’s cooperation with the United States in a common anti-terror campaign, Obama said, while warning that, though “weakened,” AQAP is still “dangerous.”
“Going forward, we will remain vigilant against any threats to the United States or our allies and partners,” said Obama.
“But make no mistake, this is further proof that Al-Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.”
[...]
Obama said “the death of Awlaqi is a major blow to Al-Qaeda’s most active operational affiliate” and “marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat Al-Qaeda and its affiliates.”
By assassinations and widespread death and destruction. Definitely a significant milestone for the US.
"His killing was a tribute..." My how we have regressed.
Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. ... And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for 'the universal brotherhood of man'-- with his mouth. --Mark Twain
The modern version is that he does both at the same time.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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