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16-year-old Child - Profiled and Killed
Apparently, all human lives are not seen as equally valuable:
October 14, 2011
Implicit Statement by the President
The death of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was not a tragedy. Not for his father whom we have already duly executed, not for his grandfather who has no legal standing, and not for America's citizens who have been protected. Visceral, emotional reactions must be dismissed for we are a nation of laws, and this act has kept America strong. I now ask every American to calmly reflect and understand that Abdulrahman al-Awlaki should have had a more responsible father. And as this need for responsibility is understood, we should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to expand our circle of compassion and to stem the tide of violence in the world community. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can best forestall future terrorism. As citizens, that is a job for all of us - a job that Abdulrahman al-Awlaki badly shirked.
Implicit Statement by the President
The death of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was not a tragedy. Not for his father whom we have already duly executed, not for his grandfather who has no legal standing, and not for America's citizens who have been protected. Visceral, emotional reactions must be dismissed for we are a nation of laws, and this act has kept America strong. I now ask every American to calmly reflect and understand that Abdulrahman al-Awlaki should have had a more responsible father. And as this need for responsibility is understood, we should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to expand our circle of compassion and to stem the tide of violence in the world community. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can best forestall future terrorism. As citizens, that is a job for all of us - a job that Abdulrahman al-Awlaki badly shirked.
versus
July 14, 2013
Statement by the President
The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/14/statement-president
Statement by the President
The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/14/statement-president
Note: The first statement above was not actually made by The White House - it has been compiled from several statements made by Obama Administration officials as well as from the documented circumstances around the killing of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki and is constructed as a satirical statement to highlight the seemingly absolute lack of concern over the killing of an American citizen and over the killing of groups of people by profiling them for drone strikes - indeed, innocents be damned.
Obama's Top Adviser Robert Gibbs Justifies Murder of 16 Year Old American Citizen
(The reporter's question starts at time index 1:57.)
...
Reporter (at time index 2:03) : "Do you think that the killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son who is an American citizen is justifiable?"
...
Reporter: "His son was still an American citizen."
...
Reporter: "That's an American citizen that's being targeted without due process of law - without trial and he's underage. He's a minor."
Robert Gibbs (at time index 2:38) : "I would suggest that you...uh...should have a far more responsible father. If they're...uh...truly concerned about the well-being of their children.... uh...I don't think becoming an...an al-Qaeda jihadist terrorist is the best way...uh...to go about doing your business."
(The reporter's question starts at time index 1:57.)
...
Reporter (at time index 2:03) : "Do you think that the killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son who is an American citizen is justifiable?"
...
Reporter: "His son was still an American citizen."
...
Reporter: "That's an American citizen that's being targeted without due process of law - without trial and he's underage. He's a minor."
Robert Gibbs (at time index 2:38) : "I would suggest that you...uh...should have a far more responsible father. If they're...uh...truly concerned about the well-being of their children.... uh...I don't think becoming an...an al-Qaeda jihadist terrorist is the best way...uh...to go about doing your business."
May 23, 2013, 11:47 AM
The Lethal Presidency of Barack Obama
by Tom Junod - Esquire
Sure, we as a nation have always killed people. A lot of people. But no president has ever waged war by killing enemies one by one, targeting them individually for execution, wherever they are. The Obama administration has taken pains to tell us, over and over again, that they are careful, scrupulous of our laws, and determined to avoid the loss of collateral, innocent lives. They're careful because when it comes to waging war on individuals, the distinction between war and murder becomes a fine one. Especially when, on occasion, the individuals we target are Americans and when, in one instance, the collateral damage was an American boy.
...
http://www.esquire.com/features/obama-lethal-presidency-0812
The Lethal Presidency of Barack Obama
by Tom Junod - Esquire
Sure, we as a nation have always killed people. A lot of people. But no president has ever waged war by killing enemies one by one, targeting them individually for execution, wherever they are. The Obama administration has taken pains to tell us, over and over again, that they are careful, scrupulous of our laws, and determined to avoid the loss of collateral, innocent lives. They're careful because when it comes to waging war on individuals, the distinction between war and murder becomes a fine one. Especially when, on occasion, the individuals we target are Americans and when, in one instance, the collateral damage was an American boy.
...
http://www.esquire.com/features/obama-lethal-presidency-0812
For Obama's Lethal Presidency, New Suit Aims at Justice
By Tom Junod at 9:58AM
It was a pre-emptive strike against a pre-emptive strike.
When Nasser al-Awlaki found out in early 2010 that his American-born son Anwar was on American kill list, he responded in a very American way: He sued. "I used every legal means possible to stop the killing of my son," he said in an interview this past spring. Snd (sic) so — despite the notoriety of Anwar al-Awlaki and the success of Anwar al-Awlaki in inspiring terrorist attacks against the United States — he contacted the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, and they eventually filed a suit that attempted to enjoin the Obama Administration from carrying out its plans to kill him before he could carry out his alleged plans to kill Americans.
Nasser al-Awlaki did not win. Legal pre-emption was no match for the policy of lethal pre-emption. A federal judge ruled in December 2010 that despite the "profound questions" raised by the lawsuit, the father lacked the legal standing to sue on behalf of his son, and that the policy of targeted killing was a political issue outside the purview of the court. The hunt for Anwar al-Awlaki proceeded apace, and he was executed, by drone, on September 30, 2011, in the mountains of Yemen.
...
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/aclu-drone-lawsuit-10785942
By Tom Junod at 9:58AM
It was a pre-emptive strike against a pre-emptive strike.
When Nasser al-Awlaki found out in early 2010 that his American-born son Anwar was on American kill list, he responded in a very American way: He sued. "I used every legal means possible to stop the killing of my son," he said in an interview this past spring. Snd (sic) so — despite the notoriety of Anwar al-Awlaki and the success of Anwar al-Awlaki in inspiring terrorist attacks against the United States — he contacted the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, and they eventually filed a suit that attempted to enjoin the Obama Administration from carrying out its plans to kill him before he could carry out his alleged plans to kill Americans.
Nasser al-Awlaki did not win. Legal pre-emption was no match for the policy of lethal pre-emption. A federal judge ruled in December 2010 that despite the "profound questions" raised by the lawsuit, the father lacked the legal standing to sue on behalf of his son, and that the policy of targeted killing was a political issue outside the purview of the court. The hunt for Anwar al-Awlaki proceeded apace, and he was executed, by drone, on September 30, 2011, in the mountains of Yemen.
...
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/aclu-drone-lawsuit-10785942
