Obama Claims the Power to Execute American Citizens
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There was an article on LewRockwell.com the other day that I just have to share with you. It’s titled, The Day America Died. It’s written by Paul Craig Roberts. I know I’ve spent quite a bit of time on foreign policy recently, but I cannot express to you how important it is that we get a handle on what’s going on here. I know we’ve all become far too accustomed to the endless military conflicts throughout the world, but if we’re serious about restoring the nation and bringing freedom back to her people, we have got to get this situation under control.
Let me read from the article:
September 30, 2011 was the day America was assassinated.
Some of us have watched this day approach and have warned of its coming, only to be greeted with boos and hisses from “patriots” who have come to regard the US Constitution as a device that coddles criminals and terrorists and gets in the way of the President who needs to act to keep us safe.
In our book, The Tyranny of Good Intentions, Lawrence Stratton and I showed that long before 9/11 US law had ceased to be a shield of the people and had been turned into a weapon in the hands of the government. The event known as 9/11 was used to raise the executive branch above the law. As long as the President sanctions an illegal act, executive branch employees are no longer accountable to the law that prohibits the illegal act. On the president’s authority, the executive branch can violate US laws against spying on Americans without warrants, indefinite detention, and torture and suffer no consequences.
Many expected President Obama to re-establish the accountability of government to law. Instead, he went further than Bush/Cheney and asserted the unconstitutional power not only to hold American citizens indefinitely in prison without bringing charges, but also to take their lives without convicting them in a court of law. Obama asserts that the US Constitution notwithstanding, he has the authority to assassinate US citizens, who he deems to be a “threat,” without due process of law.
In other words, any American citizen who is moved into the threat category has no rights and can be executed without trial or evidence.
On September 30 Obama used this asserted new power of the president and had two American citizens, Anwar Awlaki and Samir Khan murdered. Khan was a wacky character associated with Inspire Magazine and does not readily come to mind as a serious threat.
Awlaki was a moderate American Muslim cleric who served as an advisor to the US government after 9/11 on ways to counter Muslim extremism. Awlaki was gradually radicalized by Washington’s use of lies to justify military attacks on Muslim countries. He became a critic of the US government and told Muslims that they did not have to passively accept American aggression and had the right to resist and to fight back. As a result Awlaki was demonized and became a threat.
All we know that Awlaki did was to give sermons critical of Washington’s indiscriminate assaults on Muslim peoples. Washington’s argument is that his sermons might have had an influence on some who are accused of attempting terrorist acts, thus making Awlaki responsible for the attempts.
Obama’s assertion that Awlaki was some kind of high-level Al Qaeda operative is merely an assertion. Jason Ditz concluded that the reason Awlaki was murdered rather than brought to trial is that the US government had no real evidence that Awlaki was an Al Qaeda operative.
That’s not the whole article but let me stop right there for a moment. When this story first came out–was it last week?–I thought, Great. Finally Americans will be forced to see what’s happening and respond. However, the response has hardly been what I expected it to be. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but when we hear that American citizens are being executed by our own government without trial, I fully expect devoted patriots to get up in arms about it.
When a story like this hits the wire, I immediately jump on Twitter to see what people are saying. I would say the majority of the people I follow on Twitter are conservatives and/or Republicans. Most of them were praising the government for killing these men. You mean to tell me you don’t don’t trust the government to wisely spend our tax dollars but you fully trust them to decide who lives and dies? Isn’t that part of the reason we were so upset about Obama’s health care reforms? Weren’t we afraid that government would gain control over decisions of life and death of Americans? Yet, we’re going to praise the government for ending the lives of Americans without evidence of any crimes or without even a trial?
I don’t like saying these things about the United States–a country I have lived in and loved my entire life–but I believe I am right on about the Nazi Germany comparison I made the other day on episode 63 of this podcast. Adolf Hitler was a beloved politician who stood up for Germany’s Christian heritage and spoke out against the threat of communism and, of course, Judaism. The German’s blind patriotism led to the horrors surrounding the Holocaust and World War II. The same thing is happening today in the United States. We’re all standing up for America’s Christian heritage and speaking out against the threat of socialism and Islam. Where do you think this road is leading us?
It’s one thing to shoot a man on a battlefield who is shooting back at us. It’s quite another to find and execute a man, especially when that man is an American citizen. This is the most dangerous precedent that has ever been set. You would have to be incredibly, incredibly naive to believe the government would only ever use this power against the so-called bad guys. Again, you don’t trust the government to do virtually anything, but this–the power of life and death–you trust them with?
Let me read on in the article:
Having murdered its critic, the Obama Regime is working hard to posthumously promote Awlaki to a leadership position in Al Qaeda. The presstitutes and the worshippers of America’s First Black President have fallen in line and regurgitated the assertions that Awlaki was a high-level dangerous Al Qaeda terrorist. If Al Qaeda sees value in Awlaki as a martyr, the organization will give credence to these claims. However, so far no one has provided any evidence. Keep in mind that all we know about Awlaki is what Washington claims and that the US has been at war for a decade based on false claims.
But what Awlaki did or might have done is beside the point. The US Constitution requires that even the worst murderer cannot be punished until he is convicted in a court of law. When the American Civil Liberties Union challenged in federal court Obama’s assertion that he had the power to order assassinations of American citizens, the Obama Justice (sic) Department argued that Obama’s decision to have Americans murdered was an executive power beyond the reach of the judiciary.
In a decision that sealed America’s fate, federal district court judge John Bates ignored the Constitution’s requirement that no person shall be deprived of life without due process of law and dismissed the case, saying that it was up to Congress to decide. Obama acted before an appeal could be heard, thus using Judge Bates’ acquiescence to establish the power and advance the transformation of the president into a Caesar that began under George W. Bush.
Attorneys Glenn Greenwald and Jonathan Turley point out that Awlaki’s assassination terminated the Constitution’s restraint on the power of government. Now the US government not only can seize a US citizen and confine him in prison for the rest of his life without ever presenting evidence and obtaining a conviction, but also can have him shot down in the street or blown up by a drone.
I do realize our government has killed before. The CIA has been carrying out assassination missions for years. But what makes this event different is that the President himself is declaring–for the first time ever–he has the power to execute citizens at will. If this new assertion of executive power doesn’t scare the daylights out of you then you have truly been brainwashed by the never-ending “War on Terror” propaganda that we’re bombarded with on a daily basis.
As far as I’m concerned, I don’t care any more about a ragtag band of would-be terrorists who might still be trying to creep their way into this country to blow a few things up. Our own President–leader of the so-called free world–has announced his authority to end our lives if he so chooses. This is insane. Forget the War on Terror. The greatest terrorist we’ll ever know is sitting on top of the American throne right now. I’m not just talking about Obama either. I’m talking about any President who allows this power to remain within the executive branch of the government–or any branch of the government for that matter.
I’ve been saying for awhile now that elections are virtually meaningless. For years, I’ve been saying effective change will begin at the bottom. I’ve been telling people to focus on local and state politics instead of federal politics. Not anymore. I still believe the most effective change begins with the restoration of virtue and morality among the American people, but my primary focus in this next election is on the presidential race. Because only the President will bring an end to this particular problem and this is only problem I really think is worth devoting my attention. Sure, other issues are important, but I think this one takes priority. Don’t you?
Here’s the problem though. Ron Paul is the only one currently running who might do something about it. But as we all know, the country has primarily ignored him. Did you see the latest editorial from the Wall Street Journal? It talks about Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich but absolutely no mention of Ron Paul. It’s as if he doesn’t exist. The media does not like Ron Paul, so when they write about the Republican presidential field, they simply ignore him in hopes that people will forget that he’s running. The goal seems to be making him disappear into the Orwellian Memory Hole before he is able to shake the gravy train that is Washington, D.C.
Conservatives label Ron Paul an isolationist–even though he’s not–and they pick another candidate to be their favorite. Some like Rick Perry. Some like Herman Cain. I don’t care who you like. I don’t care how strong they seem to be on certain issues. I don’t care how “Christian” they are. Remember, George W. Bush had all those endearing qualities as well, but it was under his administration that we got to where we are today. As I said, I can see no more important issue at this point than the President’s grab at a power which allows him to kill American citizens on a whim. So, which candidate is most likely to put a stop to that? I believe it’s Ron Paul.
I encourage you to read this article, The Day America Died, but let skip down and just read to you the last few paragraphs:
Readers ask me what they can do. Americans not only feel powerless, they are powerless. They cannot do anything. The highly concentrated, corporate-owned, government-subservient print and TV media are useless and no longer capable of performing the historic role of protecting our rights and holding government accountable. Even many antiwar Internet sites shield the government from 9/11 skepticism, and most defend the government’s “righteous intent” in its war on terror. Acceptable criticism has to be couched in words such as “it doesn’t serve our interests.”
Voting has no effect. President “Change” is worse than Bush/Cheney. As Jonathan Turley suggests, Obama is “the most disastrous president in our history.” Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate who stands up for the Constitution, but the majority of Americans are too unconcerned with the Constitution to appreciate him.
To expect salvation from an election is delusional.
Unfortunately, he’s probably right. The Roman Republic didn’t wise up in time. Germany didn’t wise up in time. As pessimistic as it seems, I highly doubt America will either.
“President Caesar | 065 Coffee & Cigarettes” Transcript
The Day America Died | Lew Rockwell | October 3, 2011
http://lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts328.htmlThe GOP Field | The Wall Street Journal | OCTOBER 5, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204524604576611033925049932.html
About The Author
Jeremy Sarber
I'm the pastor of one of the most blessed churches in all the world. I'm married to the most wonderful woman to walk the face of the earth. I'm host of possibly the most unconventional podcast on the Internet. I am thankful because I deserve none of it. Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email
@Cliff Muncy Thank you so much for that. This dark underbelly of our govenment greatly concerns me. I'm thankful to know I'm not the only one. Just so you know, I'm hosting a contest of sorts here on the site and you've earned some points towards a free iPod, Kindle, and other prizes. Details are at http://jeremysarber.com/contest I'll check out your blog as well. Thanks again.
Jeremy, this is the first time I've read your blog. I will be reading more in the future! This post was very well written and I've already shared it with 60 of my closest friends and family as well as with all Facebook friends. I'm going to be checking out some of your other posts as well as your podcasts. It is unfortunate that the people aren't quicker to wise up to these truths. Thank you for sharing.
~Cliff Muncy
Tobaccoville, North Carolina
http://muncyweb.blogspot.com
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