Does the Drone War Need a Kangaroo Court?
Targeted killing is murder. No amount of bureaucratic layering will rescue perpetrators from that judgment of history.
It has been proposed that Executive branch lethal operations against US citizens be filtered through some sort of assassination court.
A moment’s reflection should make clear that the primary motivation for proposing this kangaroo "court" is to insulate senior elected and appointed bureaucrats from future criminal liability.
Lethal operations against US citizens constitute murder. No amount of bureaucratic layering will rescue perpetrators from that judgment of history – and perhaps may not rescue them from personal criminal consequences as well.
Now that the "War on Terror" is to be brought home, we might well pause a moment and ponder its success abroad.
If the War on Terror abroad is in part a struggle for "hearts and minds", then President Obama’s "drone war" has been worse than a failure.
In Pakistan – showered annually with both drone-launched Hellfire missiles and $2 billion in US aid, fully half of the population considers the United States to be Pakistan’s biggest enemy. Yet the bureaucracy incredibly insists that the use of drones is not counterproductive — but is in fact making the US popular!
What kind of fool could believe something like this you ask?
On Thursday, when asked if lethal drone strikes are (in the words of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal) creating new terrorists and a "visceral hatred" of the United States, the man whom many call President Obama’s "drone war architect" responded:
"What we in fact have found in many areas is that the people are being held hostage to al Qaeda in these areas and have welcomed the work that the US government has done with their governments to rid them of the al Qaeda cancer that exists."
This response (which probably also reflects the thinking of President Obama) was given by John O. Brennan at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday.
Brennan will almost certainly be confirmed as the next head of CIA. He is a longtime political ally of President Obama – both in his role of early campaign contributor, mentor on counter-terrorism, and a close White House advisor.
Recent polling data show that fear and distrust of our government has reached an all-time high water mark among Americans. To the question, "Do you think the federal government threatens your own personal rights and freedoms, or not?", over half of Americans now answer, "Yes".*
War is won by holding territory, not by flying over it and terrorizing its population. Drones are a fearsome tool of intimidation – that is, of terror. Drones are truly a counter-terror weapon as are lethal operations against US citizens.
With lethal operations against US citizens, the War on Terror has finally come home. Will Americans thank the government for, "ridding them of the al Qaeda cancer that exists", or will we grudgingly accept that the War on Terror is inexorably morphing into a war against ourselves.
*Pakistan and US polls conducted by Gallup in 2012-2013.
Read more by Mark Rothschild
- The Iraq Study Group: None Dare Call It Treason – December 9th, 2006
- Back in Somalia: An Interview With Hussein Soyan – June 16th, 2006
- Who’s Misinforming Whom About White Phosphorus? – November 11th, 2005
- The Unnoticed Death of Amada Saria – May 23rd, 2005
- Plenty of Strategy, Just No Exit – December 13th, 2004
Does the Drone War Need a Kangaroo Court? - Unofficial Network
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February 11th, 2013 at 10:17 am
[...] Rothchild, Does the Drone War need a Kangaroo Court? (AntiWar.Com) Time, I think, to dispute the slander against kangaroos, and I can imagine how [...]
Tom Mauel
February 11th, 2013 at 2:42 pm
There is broad consensus in Washington and the corporate press that drone strikes are protecting the U.S. from Muslim terrorists. However the drone warriors know that 90% to 95% of their targets are
civilian non combatants. They are advertising to the American public and the World the exact opposite,
that civilian combatants are almost non existent. The job of the alternative press is to spread the truth about the enormous civilian toll driven by a policy that routinely attacks first responders and funerals.
And that the Unites States considers any male in targeted countries a terrorist between the ages of 18 and 65, and it is the responsibility of the victims to prove otherwise.
michaelgaia
February 11th, 2013 at 5:14 pm
The White Letter from The White House smells not quite like a White Rose
by michael hall
First obama murdered children inside of foreign nations
the people shopped at walmart to show their displeasure
then obama assassinated children in countries we were not war with
so flags & troops were honored at every sports game in the land
Some lawyers screamed foul as did the few with conscience like Chomsky, Hedges & Blum
but their voices were drowned out by the silence of the bored & apathetic the meekly submissive
still the good loyal citizens did scream for more guns as their constitutional right
& american idol worship tonight is supposed to be a killer so guess which takes priority?
Then obama & the exalted mighty military murdered an unarmed american across the pond
so what did the people then do you ask?
they swallowed a blue pill sunk their head deeper into the rabbit hole and breathed patriotically
hush hush now little children its all a transparent secret nothing to see here just move along
While a depressed american teenager with his cousin out looking for his murdered father
stopped along a dirt road in the middle of a vast desert praying for his dad
in the middle of a cookout sitting around the fire alone these two american kids
without warning silence was broken by terrorism & they were subsequently droned to smithereens
Ah but some fires did light up more intensely this time
so obama & his bunch of hooligans had to reluctantly crawl out of their dark dungeon
they argued with legal thickets of sharpened stakes, moats, pickets, shielded by secrets & lies atop turrets no one could reach
through a tapestry of intricate semantics innuendos & bizarre definitions they claimed they were upholding the constitution oxymoronically tagging this odium as wise and ethical
Claiming the research was so sensitive & so secret that it could not be revealed
our heroes would then be exposed to violence & that would be quite unamerican
if that happened whistleblowers then would be scapegoated & we know what happens to them
do you really think that renditions & retaliatory vengeance are deeds of the past?
Cattle mooed as they contentedly chewed the cud of american idol worship
sheep bleated via indoctrination by years of cognitive brainwashing and dissonance bleaching
the superbowl was a commercial success & beyonce lip-synced flawlessly again
& the flags, ah, the flags flew so high & piously, almost above it all, but did i see, a bloodstain, a tear or was it smoke?
michaelgaia
February 11th, 2013 at 5:15 pm
The Slaughter of the Children Drones On & On & On & On
When the drones are slaughtering innocent children in your name
do you bother to get concerned even when on your knees on Sunday?
or do you just stick your head in the sand blindly support the troops & just not think about whose to blame
if you care i have list of their names and ages i could give you from the depths of an odious jingo game
Do your wonder if your joystick violence is really doing any good
or do you get the feeling that something is very wrong & your getting spun & fooled
how can you support exported terrorism when your sworn to defend against it
how can you donate freedom &democracy when its getting stolen from under you by E/O
Every bullet bought is a loaf of bread stolen from the belly of the hungry
& your self-praising charity checkbook fad doesn't seem to dent the starvation
if you spent 2.2 million everyday since Jesus was born
you would have spent what your nation purchased on the military just last year
Do you wonder why your schools don't have books & pencils
why your bridges are crumbling down & the roads are potholed like Swiss cheese
while your politicians live in mansions with 5-star chefs lapping at life-long luxury
then again today they announced another bone-cut to the needy, homeless and disabled
How could anyone with a shred of conscience bow before a flag without bending over with nausea
knowing underneath it the killing of the innocent is a weekly act in nations we are not at war with
that after a hit. the gang fires off another drone when medics & rescuers come to the scene of destruction
we've forgotten what we stand for by the very deeds we toe-tag and their is no rationalization
Now we know by special executive decree memo called a 'white paper'
the Nobel Peace prize holder president has the power to murder americans beyond the law
it is solely up to the president when it comes to life and death and it is all a hush-hush secret
change we can be deceived has shown the articulate sheep to be but a child-eating wolf
Anyone who murders children by drone and then jokes about it is a sociopath
a leader who becomes a serial killer justifies by secret edicts he wont share with his employers is a despot
expansion and consolidation of extreme power will one day target you and yours
For what goes on abroad in your name will backblow as it comes around to get you tomorrow
Just south of key west at Guantanamo every law, principle and value you hold dear is smashed
across the pond the most nefarious crimes are done in your name with your support
and yet at home you bury your head deep in the sand far from the massive contradiction
your heart bleeds for Newton yet when your troops do the exact same thing you raise a flag & a stiff arm
For what profits an empire when they can envelop the world and dominate it
yet in the process they loose their values, principles and in so doing their very soul
still atonement must be rectified somewhere at some time
and this is the dream that i dream someday will be;
For all the innocent children who've been the victims of the american military machine
i would willingly witness each and everyone of them walk by in front of every war supporter and soldier
to deeply gaze into their eyes and say with conviction, question and horror;
Why did you murder me?