Apparently, a CIA drone killed two U.S. citizens in Yemen, one of whom was Anwar Al-Awlaki, a noted American-born Al Qaeda leader. They killed him without trial despite the fact that the U.S. Constitution specifically prohibits depriving any citizen of life without due process.
They also killed him nowhere near any battlefield on which any U.S. citizen was in jeopardy nor during any war declared by this country against Awlaki’s (Yemen). Samir Khan, another U.S. citizen, was also killed in the attack. He was not on any wanted list at all.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/01102011-cia-drone-kills-al-awlaki-second-u-s-citizen-in-yemen-oped/
Will this unprecendented move now be used to justify "extralegal" killings against anyone who is deemed a threat to national security? The US is after all, in a war against terrorism, which has no boundaries.
But - the US is engaged in another war. It is one that receives barely a headline nowadays, but has been raging since Ronnie Reagan declared his "War on Drugs". Furthermore, it is one that is costing a cash-strapped US economy about $500 per second:
http://www.drugsense.org/cms/wodclock
Will the precedent set with Awlaki's death be enough to justify the use of drones against the illegal drug trade? It is, after all, as much a threat to US security as Al Qaeda, and on any number of levels. And, it is costing more than a small fortune to maintain - with apparently little success.
Will, in the end of it all, mean that the US administration will add another class of US citizen to it's "kill list" - namely Mafioso leaders?
Stumble It!