06 May 2012

Uncommon Commentary #262: Obama bin Laden

The subject of Vital Link #4 brings to my mind two questions:
1) Since Anwar al-Awlaki was a US (as well as Yemeni) national, why didn't we attempt a raid, like that which had taken out foreigner Usama bin Laden, to seize him if possible?  Is it for the same reason why we now make little if any effort to capture non-citizen terrorists, namely, that President Yo'Mama (see the list of domanisms) doesn't want his administration to have to decide whether to hold civilian trials or military tribunals? (According to Leon Panetta, Navy SEAL Team Six members were expected to try to take bin Laden alive if they did not further endanger their own lives in doing so; it has, however, become hard to avoid suspecting that al-Qaeda's chief was spared death-by-drone only because the walls of his compound shielded him from such an attack.)
2) Isn't our chief executor—I mean, executive's—current disregard of Pakistani sovereignty an instance of "unilateralism", which he condemned when allegedly practiced by his predecessor?