4 Liberty Sake

While I don’t doubt that many are ecstatic to here that this administration has rid this world of yet another terrorist, we all should be concerned to wonder what has happened to the rule of law in our post 9/11 American society? It should capture our attention that Anwar al-Awlaki was an American citizen who supposedly had ties to Al Qaeda. Yes, I say supposedly, because this case was never brought before the people. It’s sad that a concerned blogger like me has to say this, but… America used to believe in only pronouncing punishment after a fair trial, and a conviction was gained. You know, all the and justice for all stuff? This would mean that a group of American citizens from various back-grounds and social stances would decide whether this man was worthy of death, or not. Of course this could only be decided after substantial evidence, or at least enough to convince the jury that this man was indeed worthy of conviction, let alone, death. But as they say… 9/11 changed all that, and welcome to The New Defense Era!

THE NEW DEFENSE ERA

While our Government obviously assumes that we believe everything they say and do is justified by our good old fashion American exceptionalism, I would have to say that our imperialistic approach to ridding this world of terrorism has been in question for quite some time. Sorry to disappoint. Maybe us Americans would rather investigate our Government’s dealings both at home and abroad a little closer? I think it would be wise to do so when we find our Government playing both ends against the middle in most of if not all of “our” current battles. Who knows… maybe giving more aid to Palestinians than Israel could be seen as playing both ends against the Middle-East? A foreign policy that many experts say only exacerbates our problems both at home and abroad.

Our euphoric aspirations of exterminating every terrorist on the face of this earth has led to a new kind of unconventional warfare. Where Americans used to be considered exceptional in our approach to treating others the way that we wanted to be treated, and practicing the rule of law at every turn, unfortunately, those days are long gone. As a nation we have now stooped to “their” level per se’ as we bend the rules, or openly subvert them in order to bring dissenters to “justice”. We have to ask… what does this have to say for and justice for all?

At the highest levels, our government speaks of these aspirations in terms of asymmetric warfare. A term that gets thrown around the big tables often, but has yet to properly convey itself to the masses. The Joint Staff defines asymmetric warfare as “unanticipated or non-traditional approaches to circumvent or undermine an adversary’s strengths while exploiting his vulnerabilities through unexpected technologies or innovative means.” Now in terms that you and I can understand, “stooping to our enemies level”, or “not fighting fair.”

This approach to fighting this War on Terror, and our interventionist foreign policy has done more harm to our national security than any terrorist ever could. What good does it do for us to sacrifice our own freedoms, or compromise our own laws in an attempt to bring radicals to justice by radical means? Truth be told:  It does us no good. In fact, it just adds fuel to the fire in terms of national defense. Not only is suicide terrorism linked to foreign occupation, but our radical efforts to eliminate the problem only creates more radicals.

CONSPIRACY FIELD DAY 

I can only imagine just how much credibility this puts at the disposal of those our Government would have us believe are nothing but conspiracy theorists. Problem: why does it seem like their whistle’s are wetter now more than ever as we witness their worse case scenarios coming to pass? For the longest time, I’ve considered myself a pretty level-headed person (a belief that I think only my wife would debate), but even I too have had to endure the label of  “conspiracy theorist” here of late. I tend to believe that positions move from theories when they can be established by facts, and a lot of what I’ve personally seen conspire since 9/11 has made me suspicious of our Government to say the least.

Am I saying everything that Alex Jones would have us believe is absolutely true? I wouldn’t go that far, but when has anyone ever completely agreed with someone about everything? What I do know can be seen happening today, and this means you can believe at least half of it, and even if only half of what we see is true… I’m definitely not impressed.

WHERE”S THE LEADERSHIP?

There’s no use in beating around the Bush years, but our leadership these days is very few, and far in between. I was proud to know that both a Democrat and a Republican had the courage to speak up when our President decided to go to war with Libya. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, and Texas Congressman (and Presidential hopeful) Ron Paul, spoke up when president Obama decided to take his orders from the UN and go to war without making a declaration with Congress’ approval; an act that subverts the Constitution our President swore to defend. An act that many Americans believes makes him impeachable, and I would agree.

In an article released by the associated press, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is condemning the Obama administration for killing an American born al-Qaeda operative without a trial.

Paul, a Texas congressman known for libertarian views, says the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki on Yemeni soil amounts to an “assassination.” Paul warned the American people not to casually accept such violence against U.S. citizens, even those with strong ties to terrorism.

Anwar al-Awlaki was considered one of the most influential al-Qaeda operatives wanted by the United States. U.S. and Yemen officials say he was killed in a U.S. air strike targeting his convoy Friday morning.

Paul made the comments to reporters after a campaign stop Friday at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. He said America’s leaders must think hard about “assassinating American citizens without charges.”

These being ideas that I think Americans, conspiracy theorists, and thankfully, some leaders within our government would agree are healthy in light of what we’ve all seen conspire in the wake of the 9/11.