Anwar al-Awlaki Slain!
Courtesy of Ahmad al-Haj, AP, who is probably sobbing into his coffee over this one:
http://news.yahoo.com/us-strike-kills-american-al-qaida-cleric-yemen-122527842.html
In a significant new blow to al-Qaida, U.S. airstrikes in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American militant cleric who became a prominent figure in the terror network's most dangerous branch, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits for attacks in the United States.
The strike was the biggest U.S. success in hitting al-Qaida's leadership since the May killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
This is important because:
(1) Al-Awlaki was a charismatic cleric who inspired and directed many Al-Qaeda agents, including lone-wolf volunteers, to carry out attacks against Civilized targets. These lone-wolf agents were especially dangerous because their only links to Al-Qaeda were private communications with Al-Awlaki, meaning that they were difficult for Civilized counter-intelligence agencies to intercept. Much of this was dependent upon Al-Awlaki's own personal charisma: with his death, this source of combined inspiration and direction is gone. One can be inspired by a martyr, but one cannot receive any sort of coordinated marching orders from him.
(2) Al-Awlaki was responsible for some of the most successful post 9-11 attacks against America on American soil, most notably the treason of Major Hasan (see "The Treason of Major Hassan," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/152142.html and "The Traitor Hasan's Previous Outbursts," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/152680.html ) which directly took out a platoon's worth of troops in training, and
(3) Al-Awlaki being an American citizen was not only an enemy combatant but a traitor, having turned his coat at least once, and his death sends a signal to other would-be traitors that their status as American citizens will not necessarily let them get off as lightly as did John Walker Lindh and certainly not as lightly as did the Australian traitor Hicks (see "Sympathy for a Traitor," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/47861.html ).
Unsurprisingly, Ahmad al-Haj quickly accentuates the negative:
But it raises questions that other strikes did not: Al-Awlaki was an American citizen who has not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government's authority to kill an American without trial.
This ignores the fact that Al-Awlaki was operating as part of the enemy from enemy-held territory within Yemen, and hence was not available for capture. The American government has the right to kill Al-Qaeda combatants in the field, regardless of what citizenship they may or may not have betrayed: it is not obliged to go to absurd lengths to capture them just because their citizenship might be American.
Yemen's Defense Ministry and U.S. officials said another American militant was killed in the same strike alongside al-Awlaki - Samir Khan, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani heritage who produced "Inspire," an English-language al-Qaida Web magazine that spread the word on ways to carry out attacks inside the United States. U.S. and Yemeni officials said two other militants were also killed in the strike but did not immediately identify them.
Two traitors for the price of one! In Samir Khan's case, I am glad to see that his death, occurring as part of this larger attack, will not be long remembered. So much for his hopes of glory.
All in all, a good day for Civilization. Good men may celebrate, evil men wail, and others wring their hands in confusion :)
http://news.yahoo.com/us-strike-kills-american-al-qaida-cleric-yemen-122527842.html
In a significant new blow to al-Qaida, U.S. airstrikes in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American militant cleric who became a prominent figure in the terror network's most dangerous branch, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits for attacks in the United States.
The strike was the biggest U.S. success in hitting al-Qaida's leadership since the May killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
This is important because:
(1) Al-Awlaki was a charismatic cleric who inspired and directed many Al-Qaeda agents, including lone-wolf volunteers, to carry out attacks against Civilized targets. These lone-wolf agents were especially dangerous because their only links to Al-Qaeda were private communications with Al-Awlaki, meaning that they were difficult for Civilized counter-intelligence agencies to intercept. Much of this was dependent upon Al-Awlaki's own personal charisma: with his death, this source of combined inspiration and direction is gone. One can be inspired by a martyr, but one cannot receive any sort of coordinated marching orders from him.
(2) Al-Awlaki was responsible for some of the most successful post 9-11 attacks against America on American soil, most notably the treason of Major Hasan (see "The Treason of Major Hassan," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/152142.html and "The Traitor Hasan's Previous Outbursts," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/152680.html ) which directly took out a platoon's worth of troops in training, and
(3) Al-Awlaki being an American citizen was not only an enemy combatant but a traitor, having turned his coat at least once, and his death sends a signal to other would-be traitors that their status as American citizens will not necessarily let them get off as lightly as did John Walker Lindh and certainly not as lightly as did the Australian traitor Hicks (see "Sympathy for a Traitor," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/47861.html ).
Unsurprisingly, Ahmad al-Haj quickly accentuates the negative:
But it raises questions that other strikes did not: Al-Awlaki was an American citizen who has not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government's authority to kill an American without trial.
This ignores the fact that Al-Awlaki was operating as part of the enemy from enemy-held territory within Yemen, and hence was not available for capture. The American government has the right to kill Al-Qaeda combatants in the field, regardless of what citizenship they may or may not have betrayed: it is not obliged to go to absurd lengths to capture them just because their citizenship might be American.
Yemen's Defense Ministry and U.S. officials said another American militant was killed in the same strike alongside al-Awlaki - Samir Khan, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani heritage who produced "Inspire," an English-language al-Qaida Web magazine that spread the word on ways to carry out attacks inside the United States. U.S. and Yemeni officials said two other militants were also killed in the strike but did not immediately identify them.
Two traitors for the price of one! In Samir Khan's case, I am glad to see that his death, occurring as part of this larger attack, will not be long remembered. So much for his hopes of glory.
All in all, a good day for Civilization. Good men may celebrate, evil men wail, and others wring their hands in confusion :)