Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that everything the government has implied about Awlaki is true: He was essentially a general or leading strategist for al-Qaida, and he got what he deserved. But his momentous passage from suburban Virginia to a Shi'ite militant stronghold in northern Yemen, from American to enemy combatant, illustrates what has gone wrong in the entire misguided "war on terror," which is pretty much everything. Nearly everything we have done in the name of fighting terrorism since 2001 has blown back in our faces like piss on a windy beach, turning those who should be allies into enemies and making the whole problem immeasurably worse. We can certainly point fingers at two presidents, a spineless and dysfunctional legislature, and a secretive national-security apparatus free from any significant oversight. But Obama is basically right: We decided to give the government unlimited power - or, at least, didn't decide not to - so we don't get to act shocked when they decide to use it. You pays your money and you takes your chance.
Those words were written by Andrew O'Hehir in Salon. I read them
here at Reader Supported News.
Or maybe we only need this sentence: Nearly everything we have done in the name of fighting terrorism since 2001 has blown back in our faces like piss on a windy beach, turning those who should be allies into enemies and making the whole problem immeasurably worse.
That addresses the issue of whether the policies we have adopted have even solved the problem of foreign persons willing to execute terrorist plots against the United States.
If even that is not working, in God's name what rationalization is there for gutting the Bill of Rights? Especially as we now have at least one Senator, Mark Udall, on record that the programs now in dispute as a result of the leaks by Edward Snowden have yet to STOP a single terrorist plot.
Are we becoming the United STASI of America?
How can a law have meaning if its interpretation is classified as secret?
When did We the People or our elected representatives agree to this?
When if ever will it end?
Nearly everything we have done in the name of fighting terrorism since 2001 has blown back in our faces like piss on a windy beach, turning those who should be allies into enemies and making the whole problem immeasurably worse.
When will we ever learn . . . . .