U.S. Approval of Killing of Cleric Causes Unease

Anwar al-Awlaki, who is an American born terrorism suspect supposedly hiding in Yemen has been placed on the CIA kill list. The kill list authorizes the CIA to take out a potential enemy to the United States. Anwar al-Awlaki’s name has been linked back to the Christmas day bombings and the Times Square bombings. He is a preacher who supports the active war against the United States.

There is controversy surrounding this matter, because of the fifth amendment and, as a citizen, whether he has the right to due process of law. When american born citizens fought for the nazi party in World War II, they were given no “special treatment,” but as times have changed, the question now arises of these treasonists rights. But, there have been instances in the past when the CIA has wrongfully captured suspects, and if they had been put on the kill list, they would have been innocently murdered.

Alexa: I think that it is safe to say that our country should be protected at all costs. But, if these costs include other people’s lives, we should be extrememly careful when taking a life. Above all, before resorting to killing these people, we should try every means possible to capture them and bring them to justice in a different way. Because mistakes by the CIA are highly publicized, we often get a one sided story, we should in fact not all of the guilty people that have been brought to justice by these tough investigations. Since fighting against the United States would likely be considered treason by the framers, I think that by engaging in acts of terror, our citizens lose their protections under our law.

Helen: What’s the harm in giving Awlaki a trial? It doesn’t seem right that the CIA needs a court warrant to eavesdrop on his cell phone calls but needs no sort of judicial review to kill him. One of the main functions of the judicial branch is to check the executive branch, and that function should be maintained. The CIA is composed of humans, and humans can be fallible, as the CIA has been in the past. Precautions should be taken to make sure that no mistakes are made.

Posted by: H. Anderson and A. Witowski