Homeland Security is More Important than Civil Liberties

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the American citizens the due process of law, which guarantees the defendants the right to fundamental fairness and the expectation of fair trails, fair hearings, and similar procedural safeguards, and the Fourteenth Amendment affirms that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, and property without the due process of law (Siegel 160). In the article, “Can the CIA Put a U.S. Born al Qaeda Figure on its Kill List?” the American Civil Liberties Union and Central Intelligence Agency debate whether the United States can target one of its citizens with armed drones without the due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution. According to The Washington Times, President Barack Obama, put Anwar al- Awlaki on the kill list and approved his targeted killing in April 2010 because United States officials recognized that Anwar al-Awlaki was a danger to United States Homeland Security (Lucas 1). In addition to the President Barack Obama’s decision, the National Security Council approved Awlaki’s targeted killing as well (Shane 1). However, officials of the United States considered Anwar al-Awlaki a threat to United States Homeland Security because he was known as a suspected terrorist who had linked into many incidents such as the 9/11 attacks, the Fort Hood shooting, the potential bombing in Time Square, and the failed Underwear Bombing (Lucas1). Eventually, the Awlaki’s targeted killing is salient and significant because his targeted killing questions whether it is legal to kill a Unites States– born American citizen without the due process of law even though that citizen is a suspected terrorist. However, I believe that the decision to target Anwar al-Awlak...

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...es American citizens the right of due process of law. However, Anwar al-Awlaki deserved the targeted killing because he was abusing his American citizenship. Therefore, The United States Government cannot sit back and be taken advantage of.

Works Cited

Gentile, Sal. “ACLU criticizes killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, calling it a dangerous precedent.” The Daily Need. WNET.org, 30 Sep. 2011. Web.

Kingsbury, Alex. “Can the CIA Put a U.S.-Born al Qaeda Figure on its Kill List?” U.S. News and World Report, 7 Sep. 2010. Web.

Krell. “Government Policy That We Can Kill a U.S. Citizen Without a Trial.” Round Tree 7. 30 Sep. 2011. Web.

Lucas, Ryan. “Al Qaeda confirms killing of U.S.-born cleric al-Awlaki.” The Washington Times. The Washington Times, LLC, 10 Oct. 2011. Web.

Siegel, Larry. Introduction to Criminal Justice. Canada. Wadsworth, 2010. Print.