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On Friday, September 30 The New York Times (www.nytimes.com) published an article about the death of the new leader of terrorist organization al Qaeda. As the second in command of al Qaeda, Anwar al-Awlaki became the organization's leader after the death of previous leader Osama bin Laden. However, even previous to his gaining control, Awlaki was being tracked by both American and Yemeni intelligence agencies, with at least two unsuccessful attacks on his life. However, a recent attack finally proved successful in killing the terrorist leader. The United States has recently adapted the widespread use of remote-controlled Predator drones.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are capable of flying over other nations for surveillance or assault operations. In this case, the drones were used first to track Awlaki for days before and finally launch several Hellfire missiles into his car as he was being transported through Yemen. The car was completely destroyed and all passengers killed. A controversy that has arisen from this event, while it is good for the U.S. Proficient in: Al-qaeda
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to have another victory over terrorism, is that both Awlaki and another passenger of the car were American-born citizens of the United States. The other passenger was an al Qaeda newspaper editor and admitted traitor to the U.S. While President Obama reports that government lawyers discussed the attack in depth before authorization, the question remains: was this a moral or just thing for the American government to do?
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Even in a case where an American has clearly committed treason, the only crime defined by our Constitution, the same document states that they must stand trial for their crimes before they can receive any sentence, which may possibly include death. While it is a proven fact that this man was in fact the leader of al Qaeda, the fact that he was an American citizen should have been enough to keep the government from launching a mission with the goal of his assassination. The proper procedure would have been to create a treaty situation with the Yemeni government to capture Awlaki and try him for his crimes in an American court, even if this would have been
Here is a proposed scenario: if a man with evidence of having been engaged in past terrorist activity stacked against him walks into an airport and follows normal procedure to board the plane without threatening anyone presently, does the airport official have the right to shoot him where he stands? That would not be an acceptable, Constitutional course of action. He may be arrested but not shot as an American citizen under these conditions. Similarly, Awlaki should not have been taken out by the government because of his rights as an American citizen, regardless of the fact that he was not on American soil.
On a different note, it is a commendable advance in military technology for the government to adopt the use of such drones. It will allow us to eventually cut down the number of ground troops deployed in large-scale wars such as the two we are currently engaged in as well as being statistically cheaper in general. This is an international event because of the effects of the United States government's actions on an international terrorist organization and their combining efforts with the government of Yemen. Any movements against al Qaeda benefit the world in general and are therefore considered international affairs.
The Death and Passing of the New Leader of the Al Qaeda Group, Anwar al-Awlaki. (2023, Mar 14). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-death-and-passing-of-the-new-leader-of-the-al-qaeda-group-anwar-al-awlaki-essay
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