Obama administration authorizes killing US citizen

[Griff]

Well, they just don't make Jews like Jesus anymore.

[DanaC]

Kinky fucking rocks man!

Love the Friedman


[eta] might have to dig out the books and read 'em again!

[classicman]

Obama Administration Expanding "Secret War"

the Obama administration has significantly expanded a largely secret U.S. war against al-Qaeda and other radical groups, according to senior military and administration officials.

Special Operations forces have grown both in number and budget, and are deployed in 75 countries, compared with about 60 at the beginning of last year. In addition to units that have spent years in the Philippines and Colombia, teams are operating in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Commanders are developing plans for increasing the use of such forces in Somalia, where a Special Operations raid last year killed the alleged head of al-Qaeda in East Africa. Plans exist for preemptive or retaliatory strikes in numerous places around the world, meant to be put into action when a plot has been identified, or after an attack linked to a specific group.

One advantage of using "secret" forces for such missions is that they rarely discuss their operations in public. For a Democratic president such as Obama, who is criticized from either side of the political spectrum for too much or too little aggression, the unacknowledged CIA drone attacks in Pakistan, along with unilateral U.S. raids in Somalia and joint operations in Yemen, provide politically useful tools.

Obama, one senior military official said, has allowed "things that the previous administration did not."

The clearest public description of the secret-war aspects of the doctrine came from White House counterterrorism director John O. Brennan. He said last week that the United States "will not merely respond after the fact" of a terrorist attack but will "take the fight to al-Qaeda and its extremist affiliates whether they plot and train in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and beyond."

That rhetoric is not much different than Bush's pledge to "take the battle to the enemy . . . and confront the worst threats before they emerge." The elite Special Operations units, drawn from all four branches of the armed forces, became a frontline counterterrorism weapon for the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

But Obama has made such forces a far more integrated part of his global security strategy. He has asked for a 5.7 percent increase in the Special Operations budget for fiscal 2011, for a total of $6.3 billion, plus an additional $3.5 billion in 2010 contingency funding.

The Obama administration has rejected the constitutional executive authority claimed by Bush and has based its lethal operations on the authority Congress gave the president in 2001 to use "all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons" he determines "planned, authorized, committed, or aided" the Sept. 11 attacks.

Many of those currently being targeted, Bellinger said, "particularly in places outside Afghanistan," had nothing to do with the 2001 attacks.

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I'm certain this makes some of you uncomfortable, but this is probably the only way to fight this war.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by classicman

Obama Administration Expanding "Secret War"

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I'm certain this makes some of you uncomfortable, but this is probably the only way to fight this war.

Yup. War strategies have always evolved over the years and history almost always suggests that the side that has learned and grown from the past will be victorious. The current guerrilla style fighting is a response to the United States overwhelming firepower and [insert group]'s lack of it. If [insert group] fought like we did, they would be wiped out quicker than the Iraqi army. So, in response, to fight these new groups, the US will need to change strategies.

Right now the people the US are fighting are hiding from them. So they need to figure out a way to find them.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

I am quite comfortable with it. And in fact Obama should be applauded for it.

Careful that was almost a compliment.

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

Right now the people the US are fighting are hiding from them. So they need to figure out a way to find them.

Absolutely. Finding and eliminating them 1 by 1 or 2 by 2 is an extremely slow and arduous process. Americans do not have the patience for that. Nor do I think it will ultimately be effective.

[TheMercenary]

I am quite comfortable with it. And in fact Obama should be applauded for it.

[Shawnee123]

ANY American citizens we want? 'Cause, like, I have this list, see.

[classicman]

... as they should.