Four American citizens have been killed in counter-terrorism drone strikes since 2009, the Obama administration acknowledged for the first time Wednesday.
Attorney General Eric Holder disclosed the previously classified information in a letter to a top senator that also included the names of those killed and the revelation that only one was directly targeted in the strikes that began in 2009. He did not specifically call them drone strikes – rather, he referred to “counterterrorism operations” – but most of the individuals he mentioned are known to have died in drone strikes.
The targeted individual, Anwar al-Awlaki, was a radical Muslim cleric whom U.S. officials said was involved in planning Al Qaeda operations and terror attacks. He was killed in September 2011 in Yemen.
The acknowledgement came ahead of a major counterterrorism policy speech by President Obama scheduled for Thursday.
Holder said in the letter that the Obama administration is “aware” of three other U.S. citizens killed in such counter-terrorism operations besides al-Awlaki: Samir Khan, Jude Kennan Mohammed and Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki, Holder said.
Photo credit: axeman3d (Creative Commons)
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Go Gay Or Go Home / DOJ Employees Compelled To Embrace Gay Lifestyle
In the aftermath of both the Fast and Furious and Associated Press scandals, Eric Holder’s Justice Department is afforded little credibility in performing its prescribed duties. Still, it appears the department tasked with upholding constitutional law reached the height of hypocrisy by issuing guidelines to employees that blatantly abridge their First Amendment rights.
The document, which concerns gay and lesbian “inclusion” in the workplace, goes much further than merely protecting employees from discrimination. Language drafted by the DOJ clearly coerces staff members at all levels to openly support a lifestyle they might find morally objectionable.
While Christians and others with traditional values have long been told, explicitly or implicitly, to remain silent on the issue of alternative sexuality – effectively excluding one group in favor of another. That constituted an injustice in and of itself; but, the internal guidelines issued by the DOJ is forcing employees to affirmatively support the lifestyle. “Silence will be interpreted as disapproval,” the document warns.
The liberty-crushing guidelines do not require much commentary, as anyone who values free speech should be appalled by the list of accepted behavior contained therein. Staff members are expected to place a “DOJ Pride” sticker or some other pro-gay paraphernalia in their offices “indicating that it is a ‘safe space’” while “gender-specific terms like ‘husband’ and ‘wife’” are unacceptable. Workplaces should be concerned with providing equal opportunity to employees and openly catering to a politically favorable group does exactly the opposite. No employer – least of all the Justice Department! – should be allowed to unilaterally impose one viewpoint onto an entire staff. That is exactly what the department has implemented, though, as it goes much further than merely protecting the civil rights of gays.
The guidelines seek to silence dissent by advising employees to “assume that LGBT employees and their allies are listening” and painting a target on those with traditional values. DOJ staff is expected to “deal with offensive jokes and comments forcefully and swiftly” according to the document, though it has become apparent the meaning of the word “offensive” has become extraordinarily fluid.
Through shrewd and effective marketing of their own sexuality, a small minority of the population has largely silenced those with a different worldview. The DOJ is taking that disturbing trend to another level by making such silence an employment prerequisite.
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