In reality, it is probably the only one that has provability and has real merit, even the ACLU believes so. If you want to write off the father as an immediate threat to the US and was in effect on a battlefield then so be it, but the son? And no I don't believe them when they say he wasn't the target. He may not have been their intended target but the drone doesn't know the difference.
Manslaughter at best.
But you know I don't think we should push this issue. Because
the administration has already said that it has the authority to target whomever they feel is a threat to the state. If we push this then the courts may, as they have shown they do, side with the administration and it will be come law of the land that the president can indeed pick and choose who get life and who gets death. Which is happening NOW. So unless we are willing to take this to its conclusion then let it be. Sad state of affairs.
But the 16 year old did have a funny name and didn't look like us so apparently the left wing doesn't care. Except surprisingly the ACLU.
The Drone That Killed My Grandson
Wouldn't that be true of every president who killed civilians and called it collateral damage?
We are not talking about the conduct of war or even military action such as Iraq or Bosnia. We are talking the targeting of Americans in another country. There is no doubt Obama has the ability to pick the targets. Granted, we send in special ops to kill people such as OBL, if that was actually him, but in those cases usually there is positive identification or the shooter made a mistake. Under such conditions it would be hard to find fault. But in the case of our drone program it appears that the targets are selected by someone else placing a GPS device.
That also is not exactly what they've said about the criteria for targeting our enemies is it?
Not sure what criteria you are talking about. The constitution sets the standard for whom they are suppose to target and kill. An immediate threat is certainly one criteria.
Here is the criteria set by the WH at: Fact Sheet: U.S. Policy Standards and Procedures for the Use of Force in Counterterrorism Operations Outside the United States and Areas of Active Hostilities | The White House
Standards for the Use of Lethal Force
Any decision to use force abroad – even when our adversaries are terrorists dedicated to killing American citizens – is a significant one. Lethal force will not be proposed or pursued as punishment or as a substitute for prosecuting a terrorist suspect in a civilian court or a military commission. Lethal force will be used only to prevent or stop attacks against U.S. persons, and even then, only when capture is not feasible and no other reasonable alternatives exist to address the threat effectively. In particular, lethal force will be used outside areas of active hostilities only when the following preconditions are met:
My words: Do you think this was followed in ANY of the killings of the Americans overseas? Be honest, you have to admit they did NOT.
First, there must be a legal basis for using lethal force, whether it is against a senior operational leader of a terrorist organization or the forces that organization is using or intends to use to conduct terrorist attacks.
How could they say they did this when there was no due process at all, even they admit as much.
Second, the United States will use lethal force only against a target that poses a continuing,
imminent threat to U.S. persons. It is simply not the case that all terrorists pose a continuing, imminent threat to U.S. persons;
if a terrorist does not pose such a threat, the United States will not use lethal force.
Third, the following criteria must be met before lethal action may be taken:
1.Near certainty that the terrorist target is present;
Obviously not the case in the with the 16 year old boy. According to Obama's administration and we only have their word for it.
2.Near certainty that non-combatants[1] will not be injured or killed;
His cousins were blown up with him.
3.An assessment that capture is not feasible at the time of the operation;
Was an assessment done? After all the killings were done in an ally country with their permission, except for Pakistan supposedly.
4.An assessment that the relevant governmental authorities in the country where action is contemplated cannot or will not effectively address the threat to U.S. persons; and
There was no imminent threat to U.S. persons.
5.An assessment that no other reasonable alternatives exist to effectively address the threat to U.S. persons.
Again, was there an assessment made?
Finally, whenever the United States uses force in foreign territories, international legal principles, including respect for sovereignty and the law of armed conflict, impose important constraints on the ability of the United States to act unilaterally – and on the way in which the United States can use force. The United States respects national sovereignty and international law.
His age, name and looks have nothing to do with it. More like his proximity at the time of the explosion made all the difference.
Thus manslaughter.
The ACLU also teamed up with the the GOP to fight against the stringent anti-terrorist measures the Clinton Administration originally proposed. That turned out to be a real good deal for the people in the WTC on 9-11 didn't it?