Great news: al-Awlaki and al-Awlaki ally have been killed (now we won’t have to struggle to pronounce his name any more)

ABC News reports today (via Jihad Watch) that Anwar Awlaki, the U.S. born al Qaeda leader whose writings inspired others, including the U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan of the Fort Hood massacre, to commit terrorist attacks against Americans, has been killed by a CIA drone attack in Yemen. Another U.S.-raised fomenter of jihad, Samir Khan, “who edited al Qaeda’s English-language magazine, and had urged Muslims to mount deadly attacks on U.S. targets,” was eliminated along with him.

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Clark Coleman writes:

Ron Paul has already condemned the Obama administration for “assassinating” this man without a trial.

LA replies:

You’re kidding. (No, I know you’re not.)

The man was waging war against the United States. But Paul thinks we should have tracked him down, arrested him, and brought him to the U.S. for trial, a process that would take years and years and cost tens of millions of dollars and consumed millions of man hours, after which he could very likely get off. If anyone wants to know why I despise Paul and ignore his presidential candidacy, even when he does well in some polls, this is why.

Here’s the AP article:

Ron Paul: Anwar Al-Awlaki, U.S.-Born Al-Qaeda Cleric, ‘Assassinated’

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is condemning the Obama administration for killing an American born al-Qaida operative without a trial.

Paul, a Texas congressman known for libertarian views, says the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki on Yemeni soil amounts to an “assassination.” Paul warned the American people not to casually accept such violence against U.S. citizens, even those with strong ties to terrorism.

Anwar al-Awlaki was considered one of the most influential al-Qaida operatives wanted by the United States. U.S. and Yemen officials say he was killed in a U.S. air strike targeting his convoy Friday morning.

Paul made the comments to reporters after a campaign stop Friday at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. He said America’s leaders must think hard about “assassinating American citizens without charges.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 30, 2011 02:45 PM | Send