Anwar al-Awlaki; pragamatism and the US Constitution

So really all this frustration and rage about us having the gall to kill someone actively involved in military actions against our nation should be directed towards the ineffective governments of states that do not have full control over their territory and provide havens for non-state actors to move against us? I'm shocked.

 

having the gall to kill someone actively involved in military actions against our nation

Not military actions, terrorist actions. Military action would be when the armed forces of another nation attacks us, terrorist actions are when civilians (a.k.a. non-state actors) attack us.

As for bombing terrorists with drones, I'll just have to say that it's a pragmatic thing. We can't arrest terrorist leaders, because sending in special forces to get them would inevitably wind up in firefights that might get even more people killed. And commando-style raids would probably go over even worse with the local population than aerial assassinations. And for whether it's justified, well I would compare it to a criminal that points a gun at the police. Once the man indicates that he's willing to kill people, you shoot him dead.