After reading Walzer's piece on the problem of dirty hands in politics, it brought to mind a controversial incident that occurred sometime last year. In September 2011, President Obama ordered the bombing of a compound believed to be housing Anwar al-Aulaqi, a US citizen who was known to be working extensively with Al-Qaeda. On September 30, a drone attack took the life of al-Aulaqi and several other Al-Qaeda members.
Back in the United States, there were mixed feelings about this -- what was essentially a "hit" ordered by the President. Many made the convincing case that since this man was a US citizen, he had the right to a fair trial. This right is after all guaranteed by the Constitution. President Obama however chose to overlook that meaningless document, and kill him anyway. I understand that this man has committed numerous crimes against the United States, and I do in fact believes he deserves death. However, ignoring and overstepping critical parts of the Constitution that are there for important reasons is certainly not the way.
Al-Aulaqi in Yemen in 2006 reading the Quran
Considering the circumstances surrounding this situation, does President Obama have dirty hands? He did in fact take the wrong measure to accomplish a just end. I for one believe he is guilty of dirty hands, but many would disagree with me. What do you think?
I think this is a good example of a tough case of dirty hands. I do believe however that Obama was justified in ordering this killing. I think when individuals are threatening and harming the United States, we have to change our policies to some extent. The President did order a man to die, but I believe it was the right thing to do and I am happy with the outcome.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that this is a dirty hands scenario. By overlooking the laws of the country he governs, Obama most likely dirtied his hands. I say most likely because he has only dirtied his hands if he truly believed the killings would better the state. If he had any sort of ulterior motive for the killings, then this is simply an immoral action.
ReplyDeleteThe ability of the president to take out an actual U.S. citizen though should be a bit concerning. While Al-Aulaqi can for all intensive purposes be considered an evil man, he still was a U.S citizen. This is a killing that took place very far away from home, but the president still has the ability and is willing to violate laws if he deems it necessary.
I agree with Darren that Obama was justified in his actions. I do believe that his hands were dirty like the Prince'. I believe that the he ignored the laws to do what was right for his country. I believe that he was very smart in his tactics and did not show mercy on a man that had threatened the United States for so long.
ReplyDeleteWhile he did accomplish what was in the best interest of the United States, President Obama did indeed dirty his hands in the process. However, I feel that when an individual occupies a position of such high power, the problem of dirty hands becomes inevitable - it's just a matter of time. The case of this bombing is a bit troubling though. In an above comment, Brett mentions the ability of the US President to order the death of a US citizen. I'm not saying it will definitely happen, but this could establish a precedent that will certainly raise issues down the road.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if Obama truly did kill a US citizen, then Walzer's dirty hands certainly applies. However, we should ask ourselves if this man, al-Aulaqi, can even be considered a US citizen. What is required in order to be a citizen of a country. Does the fact that a man was born in the US make him a citizen, even though he is actively working against the country. We can tie in what Malcolm X says here as well, that Blacks are not citizens of the US even though they were born and lived here.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm fairly certain that the US reserves the right to take away citizenship if it can be proven that a certain individual is committing treason against the US, if that person becomes part of a foreign government, or if that person joins the military of a country who is at war with the US. These exceptions might not apply here, but its interesting to note.