Comments on: The Reaper Presidency: Obama’s 300th drone strike in Pakistan

By: Ward Williams

Ward Williams — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 03:00:28 +0000

What we call Terrorism, most of the world knows as American Imperialism. The United States of America has for over 100 years engaged in unlawful foreign intervention, including torture, murder and coups against democratically elected governments. Mr. Obama is exacerbating a situation of our own creation, while at home imprisoning and prosecuting his own people for the “crime” of addiction, and the willingness to emulate wall street.

There are no “Good” Wars. I suggest we declare victory on the “War on Terror”. End the “War on Drugs”, as well. And spend the money on green power, education, & supporting democracy and teaching our men and boys not to rape, Murder and abuse our sisters, mothers and daughters.

It is time for the U.S.A. to lead again, and that means abandoning murder and violence as a tool of social and political change. Ending the police state and lead the world in peace, rather than Terror and Imprisonment. These qualities are not what makes a country “Great”. Or a people “Free”.

By: Bonnie Bell

Bonnie Bell — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:17:27 +0000

To list acts of terrorism against the US and the world here is unnecessary, but I will say…who else is doing anything better to stop it??

Are we to to roll over and submit or put others on edge?

By: Ian Boggs

Ian Boggs — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:33:12 +0000

Obama, while in his announcement of the death of Osama Bin Laden comes within an ace of admitting conspiring to murder, he does not go quite so far as to do that. With over 300 drone strikes to his credit, surely at least one of them would produce conclusive evidence of exactly that.

While these acts or crimes are committed on foreign soil, Obama has been on US soil when he has taken part in them.

I wonder, therefore, if there might be a current federal law or state law under which he could be prosecuted for at least one of these acts.

I wonder also if there might be an American or group of Americans willing to endure the consequences of doing it. Certainly it would require considerable patriotism and bravery. Prosecuting all co-conspirators would be an enormous task.

Whether or not these acts can or can not be deemed murder in the eyes of the law, it seems we have a situation in which the president of the United States and his successors may order with impunity, in any part of the world, murder at will.

It makes Al Capone look like an amateur.

By: Ben Friesen

Ben Friesen — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:42:00 +0000

Your wording makes it sound like Obama expanded the definition of “combatant”, which is not true. Bush was the one who changed the definition, while Obama merely embraced it. I don’t blame you for making this mistake, as the NYT article uses unclear language on this point. However, a May article on this website titled “Analysis: Obama embraced redefinition of ‘civilian’ in drone wars” already made this correction, so it surprises me to see it crop up here again. (If this is just me misreading a mistake into your choice of language, I apologize.)