US Defends Targeted Killing

Brice Hwang

http://www.voanews.com/content/justice_department_says_legal_for_us_to_kill_americans_in_al_qaida_abroad/1597544.html

Since the 911 terrorist attack back in 2001, America has been in war with terrorism. Starting with the Iraq war to stationing U.S soldiers in Afghanistan, the U.S has faced many challenges while protecting the American people. The growing concern for the rising number of U.S casualty and the advancement of technology has lead to the use of drones to strike down individuals or groups deemed “a threat to the American people.”

In this article, U.S Attorney General Eric Holder and Congress defends the controversial policy of killing U.S citizens that are threats to the U.S. The decisions to target suspected American terrorist does not come without reason. In my opinion, the primary concern of the U.S government is to keep the American people safe by preventing terror attacks or strikes. Having heard first person experience of the conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq and viewing news of continuous terrorist attack on the American people, there is a need to end terrorism. For example, many U.S soldiers are killed everyday due to terror strikes. U.S soldiers enter a civilian population in order to assassinate a terrorist, only to be killed by the terrorist. By being selective and worrying about the civilians, our people are shot down everyday. So is it right to worry about human rights of others when our people are dieing? Is it right to also target individuals part of an ongoing terror plot? The answer is I don't know. There are so many different factors involved. First of all, the current technology does not allow us to dig into someone's consciousness to see if they are dangerous or not. There is no method to figure out if one is a terrorist or not. Secondly, depending on the type of terrorist, the cost/benefit ratio may be high to the point that it is worth the attack. Lastly, it's human nature to defend its own kind (in this instance the American people) and kill any one suspected as dangerous or a traitor. Therefore, in writing these factors, I can understand the U.S governments policies on drone attacks. However, it is because I am on the American side that I understand. Therefore, by taking perspective of different individuals, one can answer the questions is it right to worry about human rights of others when our people are dieing? Is it right to also target individuals part of an ongoing terror plot?