Obama's drone 'kill list': Are you a 'Militant?'

Barack-Obama_191.jpgRemember back in Obama's 2008 campaign when it was generally believed that his background in law would render him an effective leader -- at the very least -- with respect to the rule of law? It's hard to imagine that was ever believed in retrospect, as we've seen the former "anti-war" state senator not only completely betray various campaign promises, but personally make targeted drone killing a priority.

We saw just a few weeks ago Attorney General Eric Holder's cavalier dismissal regarding the killing of American citizens overseas, complete with his weightless distinction that, "'Due process' and 'judicial process' are not one and the same." In the last few days, however, Obama-era regression is really coming to the surface. "Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will," an article that appeared yesterday in the New York Times, could have justifiably also been titled "Secret Kill List Proves Chilling: Where Are Our Principles? What is Our Will?"

Does the president's explicitly deceitful decision to redefine 'militant' as, "all military-age males in a strike zone," really reflect our values? Is that the America we want to live in? Is that the America we've so long considered 'the land of the free, home of the brave?' 

Barack Obama -- the candidate who promised to close GitMo -- has merely circumvented the process. Instead of detaining anyone, he sentences them to death by drone. A draconian compromise of fundamental American values? Not strong enough -- in fact, I'm unable to even construct a sentence that describes just how egregious Obama's foreign policy has become.

So who are these 'military-aged males?' Do we know they're terrorists? Does Obama consider background checks of each of these Government-sanctioned murders? The New York Times article sheds some light, "Counterterrorism officials insist this approach [the approach that counts all military-aged males in a strike zone as combatants] is one of simple logic: people in an area of known terrorist activity, or found with a top Qaeda operative, are probably up to no good."

Are you a 'militant,' according to this definition? Can you imagine having a family member killed by a drone -- while the government responsible drops an official response of mere proximity? Is that how we determine guilt? Is that how we build democracy and strengthen our international relationships with others -- labeling "terrorists" with qualifiers like 'probably'?

Can you imagine what activists would be saying were it Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfield hand-picking their drone-murders, with a record of killing innocent farmers and children? Where will you draw the line? When will you stand up against the disturbing reality of our bi-partisan, neo-con military intervention, destroying what is quintessentially American -- freedom, justice, and liberty for all?

It starts with you. Stand with a candidate who stands with you. 

Donate to Rocky's campaign (up to $100 per donor) here, and contribute to our ballot access efforts (up to $2,400) here.

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Lee Anderson commented 2012-06-22 15:18:39 -0600 · Flag
Oh by the way, in case you think MSNBC is progressive. In the 2008 dem primaries they refused to let Dennis Kucinich debate in Las Vegas, perhaps because Kucinich was against the Rocky Flats nuclear depository near Las Vegas, perhaps because he was anti-war. Perhaps because, like Rocky Anderson, he was and is actually a progressive. But consider this: GE owns NBC/MSNBC. GE builds nuclear reactors which produce highly toxic and hard to dispose of nuclear waste. GE also builds rotary cannons the kind used in the A-10 Warthogs attack planes and Apache helicopters. The clever fellows at GE found a unique way to dispose of some of their nuclear waste—Depleted Uranium tipped bullets. These very dense bullets take the place of tungsten carbided tipped bullets and make great tank busting rounds, leaving nuclear contamination in their wake. Iraq and Afganistan is awash in this stuff as a result of our theft of their resources and babies are being born in droves with horrible birth defects.

GE, “we bring good things to light.” And them kill them, like people, babies, freedom of the press and democracy.
Lee Anderson commented 2012-06-22 15:10:18 -0600 · Flag
In the mid 1990s, Enron contracted GE and Bechtel to build an electricity generating power plant in Dabhol, India. The plan was to use natural gas from the Caspian Sea basin but the pipeline was in its early planning stages. Remember that George W. Bush flew in Ken “Kenny” Boy Lay’s Enron private jet during his 2000 campaign. The pipeline work was continually delayed by the incalcitrant Taliban who were also dealing with Bridas oil of Argentina. In 1998 John J. Maresca went before Congress and detailed the vast wealth of oil and gas resources in the Caspian Sea Basin and asked Congress to do something about the Taliban and asked them to remove the restrictions on aid to Azerbiajan, on the west coast of the Caspian Sea. In 1998 The NeoCon’s Project for a New American Century was formed, outlining strategies for projecting American miliatry and industrial dominance across the world, starting with the Mid-East. On page 50-51 on their 2000 document they state they needed a “catalyzing and catastrophic event like a NEW PEARL HARBOR” in order for the American people to accept such raw imperialism. The oil tycoons tried to woo the Taliban and brought two contingents of Taliban to Houston and even showed them Mt. Rushmore to no avail upon which they were threatened with a carpet of gold or a carpet of bombs. Former CIA asset Osama Bin Laden allegedly plotted the 9/11 attacks from Afghanistan and three buildings fell at free fall rate into their own footprints during the same day the US Airforce was conducting five war game scenarios over the East Coast of the US. Not long after Sept. 11, Ken Lay dies of a heart attack and the chief Enron executive in charge of the Dabhol power plant Clifford Baxter is found with a bullet in his head in his car in a Houston suburb. Hamid Karzai, a former consultant with Unocal is promoted as puppet dictator of Afghanistan, his brother is found to be the chief opium international dealer (CIA controlled) and I believe the drone attacks coincide with protecting the private oil companies pipeline from Turkmenisten, Afganistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI). The oil tycoons and Wall St. outright own our government, all three branches.

Our military is at the beck and call of the private transnational oil companies who have no allegience to any country, only to their CEO and stockholders as all good corporations do. They use our taxpayer military for their personal gain and steal resources from poor third class countries and sell on the world market, primarily to Communist China. Think about that next Memorial/Veterans day when we remember how so many of our people and theirs fighting the “spread of communism” only to see our parasite business people shipping our jobs to communist countries, burning billions of gallons of oil in across the ocean shipping and allowing China to fund the build up of their military at our expense.

“Ask not what your country can do for you . . . ":

By the way, look up the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of commerce and see where the usual suspects are now. Look at the members and directors lists and know they are using our taxpayer dollars to build the Azerbaijan infrastructure so they can transport the stolen by force resources and ship to world markets. Meanwhile our infrastructure crumbles here in America. Israel is also attempting to stage an advanced airforce base in Azerbaijan for an imminent attack on Iran, another oil and resource rich country with an easy to vilify Muslim population. If you believe Iran is an immediate threat to the US, then I suppose its easy to believe you can bring down three steel framed buildings—investigate building No. 7— with diesel fuel in random places. If you believe that I have a couple of wars to sell you. Ooops too late, somebody already thought of that one.

Rocky Anderson for president, we need to break out of the corporate dominated political system.
Dawn Richey commented 2012-06-04 03:06:06 -0600 · Flag
As long as the powers that be are killing Arabs and stealing our money on a daily basis we must resist…I won’t mention any particular nationality but those of you in “the know” know which one it is.
Michael Ballantine commented 2012-06-03 19:34:51 -0600 · Flag
We are all militants, there are not enough drones to get us all. Standup for what is right, not a nation based on tyranny.
Dawn Richey commented 2012-06-01 09:30:06 -0600 · Flag
America politics is disgusting. I will happily write in your name as well and then not feel as if I’m contributing to the 2 party charade. Obama is a Republican despite the D after his name. And he is a liar. Thanks you Rocky. You are awesome.
N Riehl commented 2012-06-01 09:19:53 -0600 · Flag
Rocky

We’re voting for you, and we know we’ll have to “write in” your name on our Montana ballots.

It’s our protest vote against the corrupt corporate rulers of the US.

Even if you don’t win the presidency, we truly appreciate your voice of justice! We ask that you don’t give up!

Montana Mule Gal
Western Montana
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