OBAMA, in his speech on Thursday at Fort McNair, presented himself as a president eager to end the foreign wars of the USA, and substitute for it a combination of ‘drone warfare’, ‘aid’ and diplomacy to fight an enemy that is at home and abroad.
He announced the ‘new warfare’ saying: ‘So after I took office, we stepped up the war against Al-Qaeda but we also sought to change its course.’
He continued: ‘From our use of drones to the detention of terrorist suspects, the decisions that we are making now will define the type of nation – and world – that we leave to our children.’
Obama added: ‘And finally, we face a real threat from radicalised individuals here in the United States…that’s the current threat.’
He announced: ‘So it is in this context that the United States has taken lethal, targeted action against Al-Qaeda and its associated forces, including with remotely piloted aircraft commonly referred to as drones.’
Obama added: ‘Simply put, these strikes have saved lives. Moreover, America’s actions are legal…Nevertheless, it is a hard fact that US strikes have resulted in civilian casualties, a risk that exists in every war…But as Commander-in-Chief, I must weigh these heartbreaking tragedies against the alternatives.’
He continued: ‘And for this reason, I’ve insisted on strong oversight of all lethal action…Not only did Congress authorise the use of force, it is briefed on every strike that America takes. Every strike. That includes the one instance when we targeted an American citizen – Anwar Awlaki, the chief of external operations for AQAP. This week, I authorised the declassification of this action, and the deaths of three other Americans in drone strikes, to facilitate transparency and debate on this issue and to dismiss some of the more outlandish claims that have been made.
‘For the record, I do not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any US citizen – with a drone, or with a shotgun – without due process, nor should any President deploy armed drones over US soil.’
However, it is well known that plans have already been made to have large numbers of drones available for use in the USA against all forms of the ‘enemy within’.
Obama said of his new doctrine: ‘But when a US citizen goes abroad to wage war against America and is actively plotting to kill US citizens, and when neither the United States nor our partners are in a position to capture him before he carries out a plot, his citizenship should no more serve as a shield than a sniper shooting down on an innocent crowd should be protected from a SWAT team.’ There is nothing here about even consulting foreign governments.
He continued: ‘Of course, the targeting of any American raises constitutional issues that are not present in other strikes – which is why my administration submitted information about Awlaki to the Department of Justice months before Awlaki was killed, and briefed the Congress before this strike as well.’
Obama is going to continue murdering US citizens abroad, as well as other nationals ‘outside of warzones’ with the support of US ‘special courts’.
He says: ‘Going forward, I’ve asked my administration to review proposals to extend oversight of lethal actions outside of warzones that go beyond our reporting to Congress…For example, the establishment of a special court to evaluate and authorise lethal action has the benefit of bringing a third branch of government into the process, but raises serious constitutional issues about presidential and judicial authority.’
This is the ‘new warfare’. He cautions: ‘We cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root; and in the absence of a strategy that reduces the wellspring of extremism, a perpetual war – through drones or Special Forces or troop deployments – will prove self-defeating, and alter our country in troubling ways.
‘So the next element of our strategy involves addressing the underlying grievances and conflicts that feed extremism – from North Africa to South Asia. As we’ve learned this past decade, this is a vast and complex undertaking.
‘We must be humble in our expectation that we can quickly resolve deep-rooted problems like poverty and sectarian hatred.’ It’s going to be a long war.
Obama must be answered by the organisation of the victory of the world socialist revolution.
