"I Don't Support It, Period." Why Is Kucinich the Only Dem Calling Out Obama's Plan to Assassinate a

Rep. Dennis Kucinich warns that the assassination program means the U.S. government acts as the "investigator, policeman, prosecutor, judge, jury, executioner all in one."

April 16, 2010 | There has been almost universal silence among Congressional Democrats on the Obama administration's recently revealed decision to authorize the assassination of a U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen, has been accused of providing inspiration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged "underwear bomber," and Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood shooter. In recent weeks, there has been a dramatic surge in U.S. government chatter about the alleged threat posed by al-Awlaki, with anonymous U.S. officials accusing him of directly participating in terror "plots" (his family passionately disputes this).

Several Democrats refused, through spokespeople, to comment on the assassination plan when contacted by The Nation, including Senator Russ Feingold and Representative Jan Schakowsky, both of whom serve on the Intelligence Committees. Representative Jane Harman, who serves on the Homeland Security Committee, said recently that Awlaki is "probably the person, the terrorist, who would be terrorist No. 1 in terms of threat against us."



One of the few Democrats to publicly address the issue of government-sanctioned assassinations is Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich. "I don't support it -- period," he said in an interview. "I think people in both parties that are concerned about the Constitution should be speaking out on this. I can't account for what anyone else doesn't do."


remainder: http://www.alternet.org/world/146491/%22i_don%27t_support_it%2C_period.%22_why_is_kucinich_the_only_dem_calling_out_obama%27s_plan_to_assassinate_a_u.s._citizen

the whole things a scam - the government is just like the mob... fuckin sickening..

i have more respect for the mob these days sadly.. :(

The political elites and the 2-party system that represents their views, have already accepted the concept of assassinating Americans overseas. We are only one short step from embracing the concept of liquidating Americans on American soil that earn the displeasure of the ruling class.

The Obama Administration has granted de facto pardons to all of Bush/Cheney's war criminals, torturers, and law breakers. Why is that, unless the Presidency itself is under the thumb of powerful forces in this country that are not answerable to the people?

Does anyone know how Stalinism worked in a country as vast as Russia? It was with the silent consent of the ruled!

Friday, Jan 4, 2008 15:25 ET

Padilla sues "Torture Memos" author John Yoo

The once-accused dirty bomber has targeted Yoo as the architect of the legal theories that allegedly resulted in Padilla's torture.

By Alex Koppelman

Jose Padilla, the man once accused of harboring a desire to set off a dirty bomb before he was convicted on lesser terror-related charges, has long maintained that he was tortured while being detained as an enemy combatant. Today, Padilla began an effort to hold responsible one of the men who provided the Bush administration's legal justification for the kind of actions allegedly taken against him, filing suit against John Yoo, the former deputy assistant attorney general.

Yoo, who has since left government service and is currently a professor at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, is most infamous for being the author of a group of legal opinions known as the "Torture Memos." He's also known for his seemingly cold calculation over a question of whether the president could order the crushing of a child's testicles. (Yoo's answer was that there was no treaty that could stop the president. When the questioner then prompted, "Also no law by Congress. That is what you wrote in the August 2002 memo." Yoo responded, "I think it depends on why the president thinks he needs to do that.")

Padilla's suit is not yet available on the federal court system's electronic database, but Andrew Sullivan has snippets on his blog. In their complaint, Padilla's lawyers write:

"Defendant John Yoo, along with other senior officials, deliberately removed Mr. Padilla from due process protections traditionally available to U.S. citizens ... Defendant Yoo and other senior officials then personally formulated and/or approved and/or failed to act upon actual or constructive knowledge of, a systematic program of illegal detention and interrogation, which was specifically designed to inflict, and did inflict, severe physical and mental pain and suffering on Mr. Padilla ... Defendant Yoo personally provided numerous legal memoranda that purported to provide to senior government officials a legal basis to implement an extreme and unprecedented interrogation and detention program -- even though such tactics are unprecedented in U.S. history and clearly contrary to the U.S. Constitution and the law of war."

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2008/01/04/padilla

And I strongly suspect that Marsha Fudge may be following his lead.....

IMO

I suspect the others have ambivalent thoughts on the matter. And in his district there is no chance of a GOP beating him.

something I have long suspected.

:(

gradually morphed into those of a fascist state. Torture is acceptable and eavesdropping is acceptable and habeas corpus has been compromised. Is this the U.S.A. we grew up in? I hardly believe it is.

Way to go Dennis! Now they can hit you with some denigrating remarks about UFOs and shit like that. Assholes!

Few and far between. I love Dennis!

One out of 535. The odds are not good, not good at all. We are now living in the Fascist States of America.

"Al-Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen, has been ACCUSED..."

When mere ACCUSATIONS become enough to sign a FELLOW American's death warrant, we are all very much less free. Allowing our political leaders to have the power of KILLING fellow citizens without due process will lead to very, very dark and horrible things. The critical difference in this case is that most everyone knows that our government has killed many people without judicial review, but now they want to declare PUBLICLY that this is a RIGHT that rests with the Executive. This is a HUGE step toward finally abolishing The Constitution in practice. It is madness and it should be 24/7 news.

"Al-Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen, has been accused of providing inspiration for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab..." wtf does that mean? As if "providing inspiration" was the only thing we could pin to this big, bad terrorist? If he's such a mastermind, surely there'd be more public evidence against him to warrant an assassination?

to support these kinds of operations - don't ya know?:think:

:sarcasm:

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His principles make a mockery of the DLC's supposed progressive principles. He makes them look like the Reagan Republicans they really are.