5 ms·

Don't we have something more powerful than a law on the books now? The 5th Amendment is pretty clear on the subject: you must follow due process. I honestly do

Don't we have something more powerful than a law on the books now? The 5th Amendment is pretty clear on the subject: you must follow due process. I honestly don't see how a strike on US soil against a US citizen could be seen as constitutional. But then, there have been a lot of things over the past 15 years that I've felt the same way about.

olympus 14y ago
The 5th Amendment is great, but that doesn't mean that Congress can't pass something clarifying how drone strikes fit into that framework and settling the issue before someone gets blown up by a Hellfire missile. I don't see how anything like drone strikes on US soil could be constitutional either, regardless of what the memos and briefings from the Attorney General's office say. But I'd sure like this to be put to bed before someone dies from it, and I think that Congress should be the place to do it. It would be almost impossible to vote against such legislation and would probably help Congress' approval rating because they will be doing something worthwhile.
jff 14y ago
The standard process seems to be to violate the Constitution, then continue doing it until the Supreme Court tells you you've been very naughty.
- mpyne 14y ago
  And even that didn't stop Andrew Jackson.
- retrogradeorbit 14y ago
  And then claim that "due process" doesn't mean a court and actually means a bunch of securocrats sitting in a room with a list of names going kill? or not kill?
anigbrowl 14y ago
Well, there's this other stuff in the Constitution about Congress having powers to define the rules of war and Congress has exercised that power. You have to take the Constitution as a whole, not just the bits that suit your argument.
InclinedPlane 14y ago
The letter of the law doesn't bring the dead back to life. And what's written in the constitution is irrelevant if 2 branches of government brazenly decide to ignore it, as has happened far too many times in the past.

olympus 14y ago

The 5th Amendment is great, but that doesn't mean that Congress can't pass something clarifying how drone strikes fit into that framework and settling the issue before someone gets blown up by a Hellfire missile. I don't see how anything like drone strikes on US soil could be constitutional either, regardless of what the memos and briefings from the Attorney General's office say. But I'd sure like this to be put to bed before someone dies from it, and I think that Congress should be the place to do it. It would be almost impossible to vote against such legislation and would probably help Congress' approval rating because they will be doing something worthwhile.

jff 14y ago

The standard process seems to be to violate the Constitution, then continue doing it until the Supreme Court tells you you've been very naughty.

mpyne 14y ago
And even that didn't stop Andrew Jackson.
retrogradeorbit 14y ago
And then claim that "due process" doesn't mean a court and actually means a bunch of securocrats sitting in a room with a list of names going kill? or not kill?

anigbrowl 14y ago

Well, there's this other stuff in the Constitution about Congress having powers to define the rules of war and Congress has exercised that power. You have to take the Constitution as a whole, not just the bits that suit your argument.

InclinedPlane 14y ago

The letter of the law doesn't bring the dead back to life. And what's written in the constitution is irrelevant if 2 branches of government brazenly decide to ignore it, as has happened far too many times in the past.