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In reply to the discussion: EXCLUSIVE: Justice Department Memo Reveals Legal Case for Drone Strikes on Americans [View all]I have a feeling that you're being deliberately obtuse, but just in case:
On one hand you're talking about a foreign national who is the head of a global militant organization, and who publicly admitted his role in the attacks. There was no question of his guilt or his role, and as a foreigner who wasn't present in the United States, he wasn't afforded our Constitutional protections.
On the other hand (Awlaki), you're talking about a guy who was an American citizen, whose publicly acknowledged role in Al Qaeda was limited to acting as an imam and posting sermoms on the Internet, and who pointedly denied the accusation that he was personally involved in terrorist attempts against the United States. Unlike OBL, who admitted his role and oversight of the organization and removed doubt about his culpability, Awlaki claimed innocence in attacks against Americans (he said that he agreed with them and encouraged others to do the same, but said that he wasn't involved in them). We're just supposed to take the word of some unnamed government employees that he was actually guilty of a crime worthy of summary execution.
Yeah, there's a difference. Awlaki may have been a genuine bad guy worthy of execution, and I have no qualms with blowing him and his ilk to bits once that's demonstrated, but that's what TRIALS are for. He should have been indicted and tried in absentia, and a jury should have judged his guilt.