The Death of Anwar al-Awlaki: Not Understanding this War and Who the Real Enemy is
Yesterday, American-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, thinly disguised as a Muslim cleric, was decommissioned (killed) as a minister of nihilistic murder. Unquestionably, the world is a far better place without him.
Among his Islamo-Fascist “accomplishments,” he was tied to the 2009 shooting spree at Ft. Hood that killed 13 as well as the 2009 Christmas “underwear bomber,” and aspired to many other atrocities.
In the usual Liberal precincts in the western world, there is moral hand-wringing over whether Mr. al-Awlaki should have been read his rights and put through the paces of our American legal system. How wrong they are and how much they miss the point of the challenge western civilization faces.
The Islamic terrorists have been conducting what is best called an “asymmetrical war” which can be described as dirty warfare (to the extent any warfare is clean, even if justifiable). The terrorists attack soft spots which are quite often civilian sites (see: 9/11, the U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa of the late 1990s).
There has been much debate as to how to treat these attacks. Generally speaking, Liberals wish to treat such events as a “criminal” happening, kind of like a “Law & Order” episode. Thus, the “perp” would have the full constitutional protections of a U.S. citizen who acknowledges the U.S. Constitution, as well as the U.S.
Conservatives take the view that people who rise above the level of parochial criminality, that is, who wish to destroy the United States and act on such, are more than just criminals but “enemy combatants.”
It seems fairly straight-forward: an individual, or group, who both abhors and acts to destroy the U.S. or institutions thereof, is an enemy combatant of the U.S. No need to write tickets or summons. And in all of the war movies I have seen, I have never viewed either side come ashore with lawyers and legal justification to the enemy combatants; it is presumed that a state of war existst and appropriate action taken. Only Liberals seem to not understand such.
And while we are on the subject of enemies of the U.S., it is noteworthy to ponder how most Liberals are far more forgiving and understanding of Islamic-Fascists like Anwar al-Awlaki than they are of Dick Cheney. Who is truly a threat to this country?
-I.M. Windee
