Woolner: Las Cruces Born Terrorist Targeted by U.S.

Ann Woolner

If any American deserves to be killed by his own government when far away from a traditional battlefield, it is the U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, assuming certain allegations are true. Known for English-language Internet sermons urging jihad on Americans, al-Awlaki has crossed the line from propagandist to become a leading al-Qaeda operative, authorities say. They see his hand in the failed airline bombing in Detroit last Christmas and in the murderous shootings six weeks earlier at Fort Hood in Texas. They have linked him to the would-be Times Square bomber and say he advised and helped 9/11 hijackers get money and shelter. “Mr. Awlaki is a terrorist who’s declared war on the United States,” CIA Director Leon Panetta said in a television interview in June. President Barack Obama’s administration earlier this year authorized his killing, according to news reports, by adding his name to a secret list of military enemies of the U.S.

Anwar al-Awlaki

He is one of the first if not the first American citizen to make the list. So somewhere over remote areas of Yemen, where he is believed to be hiding, U.S. Predator drones are searching for al-Awlaki, an American born in New Mexico. The U.S. Constitution grants citizens certain rights including one so essential it shouldn’t need repeating: officials can’t take your life without first charging and trying you. Do all constitutional rights follow you wherever you go, whatever you do? Some do, some don’t. Read more here:

Woolner: Las Cruces Born Terrorist Targeted by U.S.