[font face="Verdana"]Wow.
You've probably heard about the assassination by US forces of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen in Yemen.
What you may not know is that: [/font]
[ul][li][font face="Verdana"]He had not been charged with (or convicted of) any crime. None, zero, zip, nada.[/font][/li][li][font face="Verdana"]He was nowhere near a battlefield, that is, he was not an active combatant. [/font][/li][li][font face="Verdana"]No judge or jury considered any accusations that had been leveled against him[/font][/li][li][font face="Verdana"]He never had the opportunity to face his accusers nor offer any defense. [/font][/li][/ul][font face="Verdana"]Whether or not al-Awlaki was a terrorist (something no court can determine now), this sets a new precedent: the US can assassinate its own citizens on presidential order without any due process or accountability.
[/font][font face="Verdana"]I'm not coming to his defense, for all I know he may have been a really bad guy. He may have been the scum of the Earth, wouldn't surprise me a bit.
But I have to say, this sets a f*cking precedent I'd rather not have set. Because all the conditions above apply to almost all of us. Like you: You've not been charged with anything. You're not near a battlefield. No jury has heard anything about you (I assume).
Should the President just be able to say, "Tally Ho!" and order a jet to blow up your house, killing you?
Sorry, this is just out of f*cking hand. [/font]