The killing of U.S resident Anwar al-Alwaki Research Paper

The killing of U.S resident Anwar al-Alwaki - Research Paper Example The American government tried to keep the matter a secret but the choice to hunt and murder Anwar became an issue of public debate and scrutiny. Some American wondered the limitation of the powers of the president if he can order the killing of Americans abroad based on secret intelligence. It is significant to note that the killings of Anwar in Yemen brought in new information about the intelligence, military and legal challenges that the U.S government faced. This is because it shows the risks or perils of war, depending on missile strike from drone rarely recognized by the U.S citizens and intricate justifications written for only a selected few officials to read (The New Times, 2013). Â  It is believed that Anwar al-Alwaki and Samir Khan who killed in the drone strike were al-Qaeda operational leader in Yemen. The two were U.S citizens who had never been accused by the American government nor indicted with any crime. The secrecy behind such drone strikes emerged as major issue b ecause of the legal and ethical issues involved in the killings (Wilson Center, 2012). Â  Information from the U.S department of Justice asserted that the drone missile strike that killed Anwar, an Al-Qaeda affiliate whose death was justified by the government, also murdered Samir Khan, who the officials had asserted was a real danger capable to warrant being specifically aimed or targeted. The killing of Anwar in Yemen was justified and ethical because Anwar was an evolving danger or threat in that by the moment the U.S. and Yemen intelligence found him, he had been under the watch list of the C.I.A for more than ten years. For instance, in 1999, he was the first to appear on the F.B.I list because of his link with militants and in 2001, after the attacks in the U.S, he interrogated by U.S officials about his association with the hijackers at his mosque in Virginia and San Diego. In addition, when Anwar left the U.S in 2001, he supported the idea that the United States was officia lly at war with the Muslim community. In Yemen and Britain where he was jailed for eighteen months, Anwar hinted closer to a full support of terrorist activities and the use of violence (Mazetti & Scott, 2013). In 2008, the F.B.I asserted that their investigations have revealed that Anwar al-Alwaki was growing up as a radicalizer. In 2009, when Nidal Malik Hasan serving as a psychiatrist in the U.S army opened fire, murdering thirteen people in Texas, Anwar found his popularity when investigators found out that he been occasionally communicating with Anwar al-Alwaki. After four days,