Not that I agree with this, but it is worth saying:

‘For the first time since the days of Abraham Lincoln, an American president has ordered the killing of a U.S. citizen, far from any battlefield or courtroom.

And like Abraham Lincoln, Obama has saved the constitution and the country by defending it against a nihilistic and narrow reading of the constitution that would prevent the country from protecting itself.

This has shocked the American Civil Liberties Union, Ron Paul, legal scholars, and libertarians, who have long argued that the constitution’s Fifth Amendment, which says that no citizen shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” means that the constitution bars killing non-combatants without a trial. Since Awlaki had not been convicted in a proper court or hasn’t been killed while shooting at American soldiers, they contend, his killing is unconstitutional. A side argument, beloved by the ACLU, is that the method of deciding who goes on the CIA target list is secret and therefore an illegal violation of due process.

These are clever arguments, but wrong.’ (via The Daily Beast).

Related:

• Al-Awlaki And The Law (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
• Ron Paul Condemns Obama Admin For ‘Assassinating’ U.S. Born Anwar al-Awlaki (mediaite.com)
• “Awlaki Did what he had to do” – American Muslim Cleric contrasts American Reaction (hinduworldvision.wordpress.com)
• Al-Awlaki killing hailed by Obama, slammed by rights groups (theglobeandmail.com)
• New reality: US assassinates it own citizens with no due process (boingboing.net)
• Obama’s Dangerous al-Awlaki Precedent (alternet.org)
• The Death Of Anwar Al-Awlaki And The Imperial Presidency (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Thanks To Obama Administration For Eliminating Anwar al-Awlaki, A Radical American Muslim Cleric (dekerivers.wordpress.com)
• Multiple terror plots linked to Anwar al-Awlaki (cbsnews.com)
• Anwar al-Awlaki’s Death Highlights Obama’s Success (rationalactors.com)