Interesting how those who hollered about Anwar al-‘Awlaqī seem silent now.
Aw, he was an "American" assassinated by Obama, and the fear was that he would assassinate others. That's even though al-Awlaqi directly advocated violence and radicalism in the United States. Otoh, with Trump, al-Awlaqi (and his women and children, don't forget) are considered acceptable targets because they are Muslim.
Billionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States should kill the family members of ISIS terrorists in order to defeat the jihadist group, a tactic that would likely be considered a war crime.
In an interview with Fox and Friends, the Republican frontrunner said he would “knock the hell out” of ISIS with an aggressive military strategy if elected president. That strategy, he said, would include using deadly force on people who are related to ISIS members.
“We’re fighting a very politically correct war,” he said in response to a question about avoiding civilian causalities. “And the other thing is with the terrorists, you have to take out their families. They, they care about their lives. Don’t kid yourself. But they say they don’t care about their lives. You have to take out their families.”
Well, according to reports, Trump sure succeeded there. Though, it's probably true that many of the women who were killed were also armed. Then again, in Yemen, AK-47 (well, the Chinese knockoffs) or "Kalys" are in almost every home.
Anyway, that's what I mean about principles and the ability to express them --instead of just running off the mouth with opinions. Do I think it's ok (morally, not legally) to kill someone for espousing views that encourage others to commit violence against myself or others? It's easy for me to say yes or no as long as I don't have to pull the trigger or give the order. Suppose I had the power, though. I'd have to say that I couldn't justify doing so unless that person had actually committed an act equivalent to killing. If I knew that he'd given the orders for attacks that had occurred. The point, however, is that his mere intentions wouldn't rate his execution, let alone the execution of his family.
Thinking that way, I'd say that Obama was morally wrong to order al Alwaqi's death, whether or not he was a citizen or not. Of course, I can't know what Obama knew or was told at that time. But, by the same reasoning, I can't say that Trump was morally wrong for doing what he did because he might have had more information. If I had been in his shoes, I might have done the same thing. I wouldn't have done it because al Alwaqi was a Muslim. I'd treat individuals based on their acts, and treat all enemies (foreign and domestic) the same.
Then again, I'd probably attend the intel briefings, watch what happened from the situation room (because I was worried about doing the right thing), and not believe that aiming at families is a moral strategy. Yeah, I know. I know nothing about war. Fair enough. I wouldn't want to be CiC either.
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."