Is It OK to Use Drone Strikes on Our Enemies Overseas Even if They Are American Citizens?

I don’t see why not.

Al-qaeda and other radical Muslims are sworn enemies of the U.S. who do much more than voice a point of view.  In the 1990s, the war against the U.S. came to pass with attacks on our military ships in Yemen and several embassies in Africa. 

Should an enemy be treated less harshly if he was born in the U.S.?  On the contrary, he deserves less consideration, because he’s a traitor.

That’s not how some observers see it, though. 

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, an unabashed leftist, chides the Obama Administration as does Fox News’ Sean Hannity, interestingly, for seemingly vague standards when choosing drone targets, especially concerning Americans.

Separating citizen – from non-citizen – enemies when setting justification standards for drone attacks is a meaningless distinction – as if citizenship affects the enemy’s lethality.

If the enemy were here, he would most likely* be entitled to different treatment since the U.S. Constitution applies within – not without -- U.S. borders.  But such rights apply irrespective of the subject’s citizenship.  An alien has as much right to a jury trial in a felony case, for instance, as does a native-born American.

Not surprisingly, most of those on the left have been mum about President Obama’s drone policy. He can do no wrong, right? 

Of course, they’re hypocrites.  Liberals were vocally antagonistic when President Bush supported overseas rendition and “enhanced” interrogations.  And the aforementioned Ed Schultz was among them.  So at least he deserves credit for his consistency in opposing national security measures.  As for Sean Hannity, one suspects that his motive is to poke silent liberals in the eye rather than pose serious policy objections. 

It’s hard not to sympathize with the point from an emotional perspective.  But it is not one a sensible conservative can endorse.

*Note:  There is an interesting question as to what constitutional rights, if any, a member of an enemy force has if detained on U.S. territory.  During World War II, German military saboteurs were captured on the East Coast, tried before a military tribunal and sentenced to death.