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In reply to the discussion: Assange urges leak of US drone rules [View all]JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)What is the definition of Al Qaeda?
How do you know who does or does not belong?
It isn't a matter of Awlaki or his son or any individual. It is the principle that we can't declare a war on "sympathizers" of Al Qaeda.
It is too easy to include among sympathizers people who don't sympathize at all and to fail to include people who do but don't admit it publicly.
The definition is too vague. That would be OK if you held trials and gave people the opportunity to defend themselves. But when you just skip that step and kill before you have given a person the right to respond to your accusation, there is a problem.
The criteria need to be set forth in clear, simple language and published.
1267 people on a list created by the UN? Is that what we are talking about? Or is it some vague concept that includes "supporters" or people who sin in their hearts?
If there is a list somewhere, we should be given the opportunity to at least know who is or is not on it. We should be able to check to see whether we are on it and challenge the list if we are.
This may be very clear to the people who are carrying out this policy. But it certainly isn't to those of us who sit in our living rooms and hear that people are being summarily killed without due process in places in which we don't even know that our country is at war.