Drones and Democracy: A Legal Question, But also One of Policy

[sysop]

The leak this week of a Justice Department memo justifying targeted drone killings of Americans abroad has opened President Obama to criticism and drawn comparisons to the Bush administration's notorious "torture memos." The document isn't on the same scale, but Congress should continue to ask tough questions.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-882326.html

[jklfairwin]

Obama's kill memo should not be confused with Bush's torture memo. Right, it is much worse in effect and the so-called legal reasoning is even more specious. I doubt if even the odious John Yoo would sign off on such trash. What Obama has created, and ordered sycophant lawyers to justify, is nothing less than the right of the US President to secretly kill anyone, including US citizens, any time, anywhere, without a shred of Due Process and no oversight. This action is criminal and impeachable.

[Olivier Braun]

Sir,

The author's insistence that "any suggestion that this administration is simply a clone of Bush-Cheney is nonsense. Torture is now forbidden, in fact as well as in law" is really strange.

If the Bush administration "perversely" defined torture as treatment that "led to death, organ failure or lasting injury", the victims are still alive and not maimed. I can't help thinking that the Obama memo is much worse, for don't you think that a killing is irreversible ?

The author is right to diferentiate the Bush and the Obama administrations, because the Obama administration is less refgarding of human rights, isn't it ? I ask any reader if if would rather have a close family member (innocently) taken by Bush-Cheney and waterborded, or killed by Obama's drones.

[memoir]

Originally Posted by sysop

The leak this week of a Justice Department memo justifying targeted drone killings of Americans abroad has opened President Obama to criticism and drawn comparisons to the Bush administration's notorious "torture memos." The document isn't on the same scale, but Congress should continue to ask tough questions.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-882326.html

I have been speaking out for 15 years about gov't harassment, now it is becoming very public and I think the American stupid people deserve the drones, this is for all of you who called me crazy, ignored me and did nothing about my harassment, gangstalking,,,by the local stazi,,, you deserve what you get. I'm glad.
mem