The United States Government Declares Legal Right to Kill American Citizens

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There was a very disturbing story in the news yesterday.  This is from nbcnews.com, written by Michael Isikoff:

A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” -- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.

This means that if the government decides you are a threat to the United States, then they can kill you even though they have no evidence and you have never been charged with any kind of crime.   And no, there will be no reading of your Miranda rights before they put a bullet in your head.

Mr. Isikoff quotes from the government memo:

“The condition that an operational leader present an ‘imminent’ threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future,” the memo states.

Instead, it says, an “informed, high-level” official of the U.S. government may determine that the targeted American has been “recently” involved in “activities” posing a threat of a violent attack and “there is no evidence suggesting that he has renounced or abandoned such activities.” The memo does not define “recently” or “activities.”

“This is a chilling document,” said Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the ACLU, which is suing to obtain administration memos about the targeted killing of Americans. “Basically, it argues that the government has the right to carry out the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen. … It recognizes some limits on the authority it sets out, but the limits are elastic and vaguely defined, and it’s easy to see how they could be manipulated.”

In particular, Jaffer said, the memo “redefines the word imminence in a way that deprives the word of its ordinary meaning.”

The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects abroad, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes.

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This is not hypothetical. It has already occurred.  You may or may not remember when Anwar al-Awlaki, an American born citizen, was killed.  He had been declared a terrorist by the government and the media, but had not been officially charged, and there most certainly was no trial.

Yet, most people thought the government's murder of this American citizen was great news, including leading pundits like Bill O'Reilly, whose logo is "Looking Out For the Folks".  This is what O'Reilly wrote on September 30, 2011, which is very representative of what many Americans felt:

Anwar al-Awlaki has left the building. The 40-year-old American-born [my emphasis] Al Qaeda propaganda chief was killed in Yemen by a hellfire missile shot from a predator drone. . . . He was a vicious terrorist who got exactly what he deserved. . . . Today America rightfully celebrates another victory over vile terrorists who kill innocent human beings.

Huh? If this is "looking out for the folks" then, please, Bill, do me a favor and forget about looking out for me.  We don't give this kind of treatment to vicious killers like Charles Manson or Ted Bundy, and in fact, to do so would have violate their constitutional rights.  So why is it okay for the government to murder Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen?  And this is murder.  It cannot be referred to as capital punishment because there was no justice involved.  It was a simple act of the government wanting this man dead and following through with it.

And don't think that this will be confined to "Al Qaeda" terrorists.  If you are involved in anything that the government feels is against their policies, you could very well be targeted.  And this includes the pro life movement.  From Lifesitenews.com:

A study published by West Point's anti-terrorism center claims the “pro-life paradigm” is a motivating factor in domestic terrorism.

Dr. Arie Perliger, director of terrorism studies at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center (CTC), makes the allegation in his report, “Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right.” The document – which references abortion 76 times in 146 pages – was issued in November but only reported last month.

Perliger writes that the “ideological principles of pro-life violence” include the beliefs that “the abortion industry” engages in “the systematic killing of innocent and pure human beings”; that “since every human being is created in the image of God, it is by definition a sin to end their lives”; and that “any violent acts to end their lives [of 'fetuses'] are immoral and should be prevented.”

The Lifesitenews article tells us that this is a continuing narrative of the Obama administration:

Such conflation of conservatives with racist terrorists has become a staple of Obama administration anti-terrorism reports.

An April 2009 DHS report entitled “Rightwing [sic.] Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” identified “groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration” and opposition to same-sex “marriage,” as “the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.” The DHS later pulled the report.

Which group is the most consistent in dedication to single issues? No group has been or will continue to be more consistent than the Catholic Church.  There are individuals in the Church who deviate from  Church teaching, but the Church herself will always stand strong on the issues of life and on the defense of marriage.  We have to be blind not to see the handwriting on the wall.  The persecution has already begun with the HHS Mandate, and it will get much worse.

From the Lifesitenews article:

Constitutional expert John Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute has voiced concerns that the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) “would allow the military to show up at your door if you’re [deemed] a ‘potential terrorist,’ and put you in military detention” indefinitely, without charges.

Kids playing cops and robbers is
now a chargeable offense

As an example of how extreme and intolerant the government has become, we are seeing small children being arrested for bringing toy guns to school, and some just for pretending to shoot with their fingers:

10-Year-Old Boy Arrested, Charged For Bringing Toy Gun To School

Cops Called on 6-Year-Old With Toy Gun

Cops Charge 7-Year-Old for Bringing Toy Gun to Class

Boy, 6, suspended from Silver Spring school for pointing finger like a gun

Parents Furious After Boys Suspended For Using Fingers As Guns

If government officials have no problems with arresting small children for playing as children have always played, will they have any tolerance for Catholics who stand by their church's teachings in defiance of the government?  The National Defense Authorization Act, for those who don't know, allows the president to order the military to arrest and detain any American who is suspected of any kind of terrorism.  The Government can hold these American citizens indefinitely in an undisclosed location and never charge them or give them a trial.

If you are a pro life, pro family Christian, it is very possible that the United States Government could label you a terrorist and arrest and/or kill you with no accountability to anyone.  And you may very well have people like Bill O'Reilly cheering them on and turning the rest of America against you and "your type."

Our current government is led by a President who disdains everything that is Christian and supports all that is condemned by our Creator.  Barack Obama does not just support abortion, he loves abortion.  He is a great champion of embryonic stem cell research.  He is in full support of same sex marriage.  And he feels that anyone who does not agree with him is an intolerant bigot.

In the words of Our Lord:  "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also."  (John 15:20) .  But Our Savior also told us this:  "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell."  (Matt. 10:28).

We are headed for dark and evil days, and we must be prepared for them.

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