[Peace-discuss] Gangsta president

[C. G. Estabrook]

"...We have a 'gangsta' presidency and a Congress that isn’t any better. Only 
Congressman Dennis Kucinich was willing to go on the record in opposition to 
these crimes. 'Even the most superficial reading of Article XIV makes it clear 
that extrajudicial killings of U.S. citizens by the U.S. government or its 
agents are by definition outside the law.' Kucinich’s colleagues, most of whom 
are lawyers, apparently are unable to perform even a superficial reading of the 
document they are sworn to uphold..."


	Freedom Rider: Obama’s Murder Inc.
	Posted Tue, 02/09/2010 - 20:34
	by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

When the president can coldly order the extrajudicial killing of American 
citizens, the rule of law ceases to exist. Yet only Rep. Dennis Kucinich has 
categorically challenged President Obama's claim to be legal judge, jury and 
executioner. “We have a 'gangsta' presidency and a Congress that isn’t any better.”

“There are no warrants or indictments or grand juries impaneled in order for 
Barack Obama to decide to kill any individual he chooses.”

No one has the right to kill, or so we are told. Regardless of motive, murder is 
illegal, and the legal system rightfully sets the bar at a very high level 
before excusing this act. Not so where the government is concerned. Our 
constitutional law professor president, Barack Obama, like his predecessor 
George W. Bush, claims the right to murder American citizens.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Bush gave the CIA and later the 
military, permission to kill American citizens abroad if those persons were 
declared threats to the United States, its people or its interests. President 
Obama believes that he too can decide to assassinate Americans if he declares 
them to be terrorists. This is not some bizarre assertion made by tin foil hat 
conspiracy theorists. The president’s Director of National Intelligence, Dennis 
Blair, stated for the record and under oath before a congressional committee, 
that the president can give “special permission” to target American citizens for 
death.

In words that would make George Orwell proud, Blair explained that the rationale 
for killing is the taking of actions threatening American lives. “If that direct 
action -- we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get 
specific permission to do that.” So, if an American outside of the United States 
is considered a threat to other American lives, the American suspect can be 
killed on orders of the president. If that circular logic was followed 
consistently, then the killers of the terror suspect would also be killed for 
taking an American life. Of course, that would never happen because acting on 
behalf of the government absolves any and all criminal behavior.

“If an American outside of the United States is considered a threat to other 
American lives, the American suspect can be killed on orders of the president.”

Brown’s assurances are not very comforting and are worthless in any case. There 
are no checks and balances governing how this permission to kill may be granted. 
There is no need to prove to congress or to other American citizens when this 
act is deemed justifiable. There are no warrants or indictments or grand juries 
impaneled in order for Barack Obama to decide to kill any individual he chooses.

This Obama administration policy originally came to light in a Washington Post 
article about the targeting of Yemen as a so-called terrorist haven. According 
to the Post, the Obama administration has been trying to kill Yemeni-American 
Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki is a Muslim cleric, allegedly “radical” and a 
“terrorist” but he is also inconveniently an American citizen, having been born 
in New Mexico. He came to public notice after the Fort Hood killings committed 
by Major Nidal Hasan, with whom he is said to have corresponded. The would be 
Christmas airplane bomber, Umar Farouk Adbulmutallab allegedly met al-Awlaki in 
Yemen.

“Due process rights shouldn’t end at the Oval Office or at the United States’ 
borders.”

No evidence has been presented proving any of these government claims or 
al-Awlaki’s involvement in any of these acts. Yet members of the Obama cabinet 
can tell Congress, the media and the public that we have a government run by hit 
men. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that our life and 
liberty cannot be taken away without due process. Those due process rights 
shouldn’t end at the Oval Office or at the United States’ borders and our 
government should not be allowed to get rid of us because we are unlucky enough 
to be in Yemen or any other part of the world.

We have a “gangsta” presidency and a Congress that isn’t any better. Only 
Congressman Dennis Kucinich was willing to go on the record in opposition to 
these crimes. “Even the most superficial reading of Article XIV makes it clear 
that extrajudicial killings of U.S. citizens by the U.S. government or its 
agents are by definition outside the law.” Kucinich’s colleagues, most of whom 
are lawyers, apparently are unable to perform even a superficial reading of the 
document they are sworn to uphold.

Extra judicial killings are to be expected in banana republics and communist 
dictatorships and Islamic theocracies or, well, by Israel. They aren’t supposed 
to be committed in violation of the Bill of Rights. There is only one silver 
lining to this cloud. We now know what Sarah Palin meant when she spoke about 
“Obama death panels.” Maybe she isn’t so dumb after all.

Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley 
lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at 
Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.com.

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