TruthOut: More on Obama's drone war
Obama Breaks the Golden Rule on Drones
Dec. 1, 2012
by Thom Hartmann & Sam Sacks, The Daily Take | News Analysis
One day after his re-election President Obama ordered yet another drone strike in Yemen, killing an alleged al-Qaeda operative. In the process, our nation's moral standing in the world was further downgraded.
Family members of the man killed are outraged and bewildered, wondering why their loved one was sentenced to death from above, rather than arrested and put on trial. They say that while Adnan al-Qadhi may have held an extremist ideology and may have lent some low-level support to al-Qaeda, he was not actively engaged in any terrorist activities. Relatives say the drone strike was a complete shock and that al-Qadhi could have easily been arrested, and, had he known he was being targeted, then he would have cooperated with authorities.
The details of this latest drone strike appear to violate the rules of engagement laid out by the President's own counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, who in April suggested drone strikes are only used when, "A significant threat might be posed by an individual who is an operational leader of al-Qaeda or one of its associated forces" and "capturing the individual is not feasible." As al-Qadhi's brother told McClatchy news,
"We could have made sure he turned himself in. If [he] was guilty of any crime, then arrest him, put him on trial."
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