Yemen says al-Qaeda-linked cleric al-Awlaki killed

[jefferson_dem]

:applause:

Yemen says al-Qaeda-linked cleric al-Awlaki killed

The government says al-Awlaki was targeted and killed 5 miles from the town of Khashef in the Province of al-Jawf. The town is located 87 miles east of the capital Sanaa.

The statement says the operation was launched on Friday around 9:55 a.m. It gave no other details.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said an airstrike thought to have been carried out by U.S. aircraft on Friday targeted a convoy of cars traveling in the eastern province of Marib but could not say whether al-Awlaki was in the convoy.

The 40-year-old al-Awlaki is believed to have inspired and even plotted or helped coordinate some of the recent attacks on the U.S., including the failed Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner heading for Detroit, Michigan, and the also unsuccessful plot to send mail bombs on planes from Yemen to the United States in October.

The American-born son of Yemeni parents rose to prominence as al-Qaida's English-speaking voice and electronic messenger, spreading its terrorist credo via a blog, social media posts and email exchanges with such people as the U.S. Army major accused of a murderous shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

<SNIP>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-09-30/anwar-al-awlaki-killed-yemen/50613048/1

[ellisonz]

1. I don't like grave-dancing, but...

He's not going to be missed.

[jpgray]

2. Can someone point me to some evidence and proof of his crimes?

Preferably beyond writing radical things on the internet?

[Clio the Leo]

5. We could have judged him for his crimes if he'd come HOME and stood trial...

... bit of a coward to hide in Yemen as a fugitive wasn't he?

[dembat]

36. A bit Coward?

The Goverment of the United States killed Timothy Mcvay, the
Goverment of the United States killed many Americans who have
done crimes against Americans. Let me ask you this, what about
the 13 military personel that was killed at Fort Hood? 

An American picked a fight against the American people, he had
to pay for his crimes. You want proof, how about the
confessions of the Fort Hood shooter, and the suspected bomber
that was supposed to blow the plane over Detroit on Christmas
day, plus all the crap he has been spewing over the internet. 

I applaud President Obama for this feat, and I advise you to
get your head out of the kumbaya sand.

[msanthrope]

9. Why don't you do your own research instead of expecting other people to google for you?

You can find his public fatwa against a female cartoonist, the evidence and testimony in the Stephen Timms assassination attempt trial, the bombings at Christmas and in Times Square, and the PETN bombs. There's lots out there--including his claiming of these acts. The BBC has plenty on him.

Finally, there's his murder indictment in Yemen. Yemen does not have to tolerate our homegrown terrorists within their borders if they will not show for their court date.

[Vicar In A Tutu]

20. Plotting with a British Airways worker to blow up planes, too.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-12561994

This thing pled guilty time and time again. In the absence of a concerted effort to hand himself over in order to face trial, this was the only way sentrncing could be carried out. His timely departure has almost certainly saved a lot of lives.

[TeamJordan23]

3. Al Jazeera (English) states that the airplane that carried out the strike was likely to be American.

Another huge win for the Obama Administration.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/201193083340115111.html

[SkyDaddy7]

4. Right, but many here on DU are...

Obviously going to spin it as an innocent man being assassinated by his own government.

Oh well.

[moodforaday]

7. Without a trial we don't know if he was innocent

or not. Your strawman is showing. The facts are, a US citizen was assassinated on the say-so of the US president.

"No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law". But I guess Obama thinks that's just a damn piece of paper. Quaint, too.

[Renew Deal]

12. Why didn't he turn himself in?

[BeyondGeography]

6. Obama's knocking these guys off like he's a real American or something

[moodforaday]

8. Great, now you're cheering

extrajudicial assassinations of US citizens. The mind boggles. Who else do you think Obama should order murdered?


http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/09/30/awlaki

[msanthrope]

10. It wasn't extrajudicial. the President has the authority under the AUMF to order this. nt

[_ed_]

13. Total fucking bullshit

The AUMF does not suspend the Fifth Amendment.

[msanthrope]

16. The AUMF and the 5th amendment aren't always in opposition.

You might want to read the recent cases of Khan, Suleiman, etc.

It's too bad Mr. Al-Awlaki chose not to challenge his targeting in court.

[Evergreen Emerald]

11. Again?

How many times has he been killed by us? Let me guess, he is the number 2 guy in al-Qaeda?

[_ed_]

14. The executive branch just assassinated an American citizen

without a whiff of due process. And you clap? Disgusting.

This is tyranny, pure and simple. If our govt can kill us without any legal recourse or due process, the American experiment is over.

[msanthrope]

17. No. They killed an identified military target. Too bad Al-Awlaki didn't challenge his

targeting or otherwise seek help from the international courts.

It might have interfered with the fatwa-issuing against female cartoonists....

[_ed_]

25. "Military target" is a nice euphemism

Sounds just like George Bush's logic.

This man was murdered, plain and simple, by our government without a trial. From what I know about him, it should have been easy to prosecute him in a court. But I guess "the rule of law" is totally irrelevant for both Republicans and Democrats now.

[treestar]

29. He wasn't going to turn himself in for a trial

Think of it as like a hostage standoff. The cops don't have to wait until a killer is finished killing and then arrest him. They kill him before he can kill more people. If he wanted a trial, he could have gone to court in Yemen.

[_ed_]

31. It's not a hostage situation

Charlie Manson didn't turn himself in, either. Nor did John Wayne Gacy. We somehow managed to deal with them without subverting our system of laws.

[treestar]

32. No, I mean an active one.

Where they still have the gun and are threatening to kill people.

If the cops had gotten to Columbine while the shooters were still shooting. Can't they kill them? Or do they have to let them finish killing and then have a trial?

This whole thing is getting ridiculous. It's people trying to find a bash for Obama where there is none, just like the right wing does.

[msanthrope]

33. Yes. For a fundamentalist cleric asshole who tried to kill Americans? Yes. nt

[totodeinhere]

19. I will join the clapping. It's a victory for President Obama and when the repukes try to

accuse him of being weak on terrorism during the upcoming campaign he can point to incidents like this to prove they are wrong. President Obama is much tougher on terrorism than shrub ever thought of being.

[_ed_]

27. So, an American citizen is murdered without a trial

and all you care about is how this might affect "the horse race" for 2011? Sickening.

[totodeinhere]

39. I will let the lawyers sort this out rather than blithely passing my own judgment on it

like some in this thread have done. I trust the president's instincts on this especially since he taught constitutional law.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

41. He was tried in yemen, unless you only consider american due process valid ofcourse n/t

[BeyondGeography]

34. Hysterical

In every sense.

[jefferson_dem]

38. L...L...L... Al-Qaeda Alone!1!!111!

:nopity: Please... This piece of human debris got what he asked for...and deserved.

Yes, I am a card carrying member of the ACLU ... and I applaud this successful military mission, and our President. :patriot:

[Beacool]

15. Good riddance to bad rubbish!!!

Job well done.

:applause:

[Tarheel_Dem]

18. One by one!

:kick:

[Ikonoklast]

21. Boo-freakin'-hoo.

And The World Is Now A Better Place.

[Imajika]

22. Our President pretty much just kicks ass...

...when it comes to eliminating terrorists. Must be difficult for the Republicans and 'baggers to deal with a Democratic President who stomps bad guys into the dirt on a regular basis. Thanks to both presidents Clinton and Obama, the stereotype of Democrats being weak on defense is long gone. Hell, Obama will probably be viewed as tougher on national security than any of his potential rivals.

Great job President Obama!

[YellowCosmicSun]

23. Obama's not fucking around with these guys.

[Phx_Dem]

24. Obama is kicking al Qaeda ass!!

[_ed_]

28. And he's not letting that pesky "rule of law" shit to get in his way

Who cares about laws? We're scared and we're killing people, so who give a fuck?

[Cali_Democrat]

26. Cowardly summary execution without trial and no evidence has been presented

:thumbsdown:

[jenmito]

37. There are plenty of videos of him talking about killing Americans. n/t

[lunatica]

30. President Obama sure has a deadly plan playing out against Al Qaeda

And the Republicans try so hard to make him look weak. Actually a whole sect of DU tries to do the same thing. Yet he's shown himself to be deadly serious about getting the actual people who plot against us and the world. Something, I might add, that no other world leader has managed to ever do.

[jenmito]

35. K&R. This is almost as big as getting bin Laden. GREAT news! And to those

crying about him being a U.S. citizen, he forfeited his citizenship privileges when he swore jihad on America (and involved himself with killing Americans). The press corp is going crazy with their questions to Carney about proof that he was involved with the attempted killing of Americans, etc. They NEVER would've questioned BUSH about the killing of any terrorists.

[Phx_Dem]

40. Self-delete. Dupe.