America: You Are Better Than This!

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

America commonly uses lethal force, the U.S. Constitution, the Geneva Convention and the U. N. Charter be damned. Bomb in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa, no problem.

Create and disperse "Kill/Capture" squads such as the one that murdered Osama bin Laden. No problem. Use a drone strike to kill a U.S. born Yemen based cleric and then kill his teenage son and his friends the same way, no problem. Support the killing of Moamar Kadafi, no problem. If innocent men, women and children are killed by drones in pursuit of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, no problem, they're just ancillary damage. To indefinitely occupy Iraq and Afghanistan, using lethal force to enforce U.S. control, no problem. Spread the "War on Terror" to 4 more Central African nations last week, using drones and "Kill/Capture" squads, no problem.

Create a secret U.S. government death panel that can authorize the killing of Americans anyplace at any time, no problem. http://www.december212012.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12383. What has America become? We respect no rule of law, we unleash our military, our "contractors," and our C.I.A. to kill, torture and secretly imprison anyone we choose. This is not the America of 10 years ago that made us proud, nor the America most of the world used to admire. It has become an imperialistic brutal monster that operates by its own rules and will attack as it chooses, in the process of seizing and controlling the resources of others.

(posted with permission from: http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/10/america-you-are-better-than-this.html)

Also for further reading: Third U.S. Citizen Killed by Obama’s Yemen Drone Strikes was a 16-Year-Old Boy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2164005

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WinkyDink]

2. "America: You Are Better Than This!" Hmmmmm......

[90-percent]

3. Blow back

There is almost always some form of blow back for when the U.S.A. goes on an assassination binge. The blow back usually materializes as some form of terrorism, sometimes at incredible loss of human life. Other times it comes in the form of other world leaders attempting to assassinate our political leaders.

I have read that the Kennedy assassination was in retaliation to some earlier CIA attempted and successful assassinations?

MY point is that perhaps history will show that Leaders getting into the assassination game generally make things worse, on the scale of World War, and the lesson, repeatedly, of the benefit of the rule of law regains rightful prominence in the world order. It would seem this sort of things cycles through the lifetime of a generation, who, having not lived through such times, repeats the mistakes of history. Like repealing Glass Steagel, for example. NAFTA for another. Iraq Invasion #2 for another. America in Afghanistan for another. Preemptive war for another.

I have a sketchy knowledge of history. This opinion is based mostly on History Channel shows and DU posts over the years.

-90% Jimmy

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

4. Re: My point is that perhaps history will show that Leaders getting into the assassination game...

...generally make things worse.

Exactly!

Well stated, Jimmy.

[90-percent]

7. Gee, thanks!

Just trying to change the world, one DU post at a time.

I just want to be a citizen of an America that practices principals I can be proud of. So many governments are thumbing their nose at international and their own laws that respect for the rule of law by we the people will be broken.

I don't want to live in a Mad Max world. Especially as it's completely avoidable. If only our leaders were wise and just and dedicated to the common welfare, instead of merely being greedy sociopaths.

Or, TREACHEROUS CRETINS, as my hero Frank Zappa has used for a song title, I think for a guitar solo only song?

Thanks for your original post. It sparked some deep feelings in me about honor and national pride. There is very little an American has to be proud of these days. We were stupid enough to re-elect GWB, fer chrissakes!

-jimmy

[Angry Dragon]

5. The USA has grown into the largest terrorist group

the world has ever known

I believe no one in this world is safe from this terrorist group

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

9. But when we do it, we don't call it terrorism, we give it cool names...

like Shock and Awe. It's disgusting.

[gratuitous]

6. Oh what could go wrong?

Besides, it probably won't go wrong for you personally. Probably. And if, God forbid,it does,we can all take comfort in the fact that it will be because those goddam terrorisys hate us for our freedom. At least that's what the teevee will tell us. So don't worry so much about dying for our country's sins. Probably won't happen.

[krabigirl]

8. Are we? Seems like we've been at war or messing with other countries for such a long time...

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

10. The author adds...

Since World War ll, the U.S. has been moving in stages to where it is now, a military industrial complex in control and with it perpetual wars to justify its rapidly growing massive military spending.

[indepat]

11. When a nation has been given an exclusive franchise to liquidate known or suspected

terraists, wherever on the earth such known/suspected terraists might be, it stands to reason collateral damage will sometimes be a by-product in taking such lethal action. Since it is our destiny, our God-given right, to rid the earth of known/suspected terraists, observance of those pesky little niceties, such as international law and the like, is not always possible and cannot be allowed to deter us in our righteous crusade as long as a known/suspected terraist is believed to have taken refuge some place on the earth. Besides, due to our innate goodness, we, as a nation, have alway been diligent to keep collateral damage to a reasonable minimum and will continue to do so. :patriot: