Debate over whether US government should be able to drone American citizens



Early to rise. Turned on CNN which was featuring its usual discussion of the war on terror. (I felt a bit like Winston Smith in Orwell’s novel: 1984). Obviously terrorism is an issue. Obviously the defense of the United States is an issue. Obviously the U.S. must take reasonable steps to defend its borders. But, today’s focus featured a difficult issue with a brand new angle.
The Difficult Issue: CNN  was discussing whether the U.S. government should be able to target U.S. citizens for drone attacks. This is NOT new. (Of course, a better question might be whether it should target anybody for drone attacks.)
The New Angle: For the first time I saw the suggestion that U.S. citizens were more dangerous to the United States because they have a right of entry into the United States! Think of it.
Once again:
The U.S. citizen may be a greater threat to the security of the United States because that citizen has the right to enter the U.S. This reminded me of a fantastic novel called “The Charm School” written by (one of my favorite novelists) Nelson Demille.
Not sure whether that angle made it into either of the stories referenced by the  tweets.
Consider this question:
Should U.S. citizens be considered to be more dangerous to the United States than non-citizens because they have a right of entry into the United States? Where does this end?
 
 
 
 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a Reply