Ron Paul blasts Obama for killing Americans

Presidential hopeful Ron Paul has publicly attacked the Obama administration’s abolishment   of due process in a new editorial, calling the move a turning point in American history.

U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), Republican candidate for U.S. president. (Reuters / Jonathan Ernst)


“It is particularly bizarre to hear the logic of the administration claiming the right to target its citizens according to some secret selection process, when we justified our attacks against Iraq and Libya because their leaders supposedly were targeting their own citizens,” writes Rep. Paul. “We also now plan a covert war against Syria for the same reason.”

The congressman adds in his explanation that he is all for justice brought on those that threaten America or its people, but that the US Department of Justice has — and should continue — to view these issues on a case-by-case basis. On the contrary, argues Paul, it seems as if the president puts himself above all other branches of the federal government, essentially eliminating the system of checks and balances constructed by America’s forefathers.

Holder, says Paul, “tells us that this is not a violation of the due process requirements of our Constitution because the President himself embodies ‘due process’ as he unilaterally determines who is to be targeted. As Holder said, ‘a careful and thorough executive branch review of the facts in a case amounts to “due process.”’ That means that the administration believes it is the President himself who is to be the judge, jury and executioner.”

“Our civilian court system, with the guarantee of real due process, judicial review, and a fair trial, is our strength, not a weakness,” writes Rep. Paul. “It is not an impediment to be sidestepped in the push for convictions or assassinations, but rather a process that guarantees that fundamental right to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”

After the CIA ordered and executed a “targeted kill” on Awlaki and alleged al-Qaeda operative Samir Khan last year, Ron Paul responded the same day to condemn the assassinations. "Nobody knows if he ever killed anybody," Paul said at time. "If the American people accept this blindly and casually…I think that's sad."

Now that the US has formally acknowledged that it stands by the killing months later, the congressman seems to be even more concerned with the turn America is taking, describing Holder’s explanation as something “history likely will record as a turning point.”

Full story at  rt.com