Fox & Friends: Obama Uses Drones Because ‘He Doesn’t Have The Courage’ To Put Terrorists On Trial

Let me assure you that President Obama’s drone program makes me extremely uneasy. But there’s absolutely no evidence for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s accusation that the purpose of the program is for Obama’s political expediency or that it’s because “he doesn’t have the courage” to put terrorists on trial in Guantanamo Bay. Yet, that’s what Napolitano said on Fox & Friends this morning. Predictably, there was no challenge from host Brian Kilmeade, even though he made clear his support for the drone program.

As “ASSASSINATION COURT” and “LICENSE TO KILL?” blared in banners on the screen, Napolitano batted aside the notion that some kind of judicial oversight of the program would be acceptable.

The Constitution makes no exception for “the government shall not take your life without a jury trial.” …This is a transfer of the power to kill from nowhere! The president has just seized it, himself. He’s given himself permission to kill - to judges meeting in secret.

…I’m not sure which is worse. By putting the burden on the judges, the president takes the heat off himself. Let me tell you why the president’s killing: because he doesn’t have the courage to address the issue of Guantanamo Bay, which he said he would close and he hasn’t. Because he doesn’t have the courage to put these people on trial who are in Guantanamo Bay, which he said he would and he hasn’t. He thinks it would be easier politically to kill them. He might be right.

Rather than ask for anything like grounds to make such an accusation, Kilmeade gave it credence. He said enthusiastically, “He’s only captured one and we don’t even know where that guy is.”

Nobody mentioned, as even Bill O’Reilly did last night on Letterman, that drones are safer and less costly for our troops because we don’t have to send Special Forces into extremely risky situations, that they supposedly terrorize jihadists who are now in danger while preparing for their operations and there’s an argument to be made that they cause fewer civilian casualties.

Again, don’t get me wrong. I’m not justifying the program. And I think there are plenty of compelling arguments against it. But I have no reason to believe – and nobody on Fox offered any – to think that it was designed because Obama "thinks it would be easier politically."

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Showing 8 reactions

Robert Urban commented 2013-02-12 19:35:15 -0500 · Flag

I also find it (well not FUNNY) that all these chickenhawks find it COMPLETELY acceptable to send American service men/woman into harms way on the grounds of a complete lie, and agree that dropping bombs from 30,000 feet onto cities, randomly killing hundreds of innocent civilians (See: Shock and Awe A.K.A TERRORISM) is a fair and honorable practice, but to surgically stop a known threat, without subjecting American service men/woman to being killed in the process, is Anti American. And than to bitch and moan that 3 people were killed, and that this requires every person in a responsible position to reveal everything and anything that they knew, before and after the fact, when they (Republicans) did everything they could to hamper investigations of the deaths of over 3000 Americans, some 12 years ago, when there was countless evidence that our leaders at the time COMPLETELY ignored warnings of attacks on U.S. soil? Of course they HAVE done their best to remove Bush II from Republican Presidential history during the last 5 years, and have not only distanced themselves, but have NEVER since, acknowledged the existence of him as their leader for those drastic years in American History. I have not heard of a leading politician being faded into history since Arron Burr killed Hamilton in a dual. Of course Bush would NEVER have had the balls to actually put his life on the line for his beliefs (see his service, or lack of, record).

Robert Urban commented 2013-02-12 18:35:25 -0500 · Flag

The ‘In your Face’ hypocrisy of the GOP is so extreme that they seem to think their base is suffering from Alzheimers as they were the vocally outspoken (yes I do realize that there is no other way to be ‘outspoken’ than to be ‘verbal’, but the dumbing down of our society also roundly accepts the phrase ‘I COULD care less’ and ‘These ones’ as acceptable) verbiage against trying terrorist on U.S. soil some 6 years ago. But than again, we are talking about the most Unfair and Unbalanced Network.

Kent Brockman commented 2013-02-12 18:18:56 -0500 · Flag

Fux Nuze Fantasy Flashback to March 19, 2003

Dumbya iz sending da military for to fight the man who threatened hiz daddy cuz he don’t have da courage to put Saddam on trial.

Thx4 Fish commented 2013-02-12 17:28:01 -0500 · Flag

Ah another case of “I agree with Obama, but I am against the reasoning that (I decided) he is using for this decision.”

I really disagree with the drone policy. It is difficult because Al Qaeda is such a horribly destructive and oppressive group that really needs to be destroyed.

Drones in the US? they’d only have to kill one innocent and that would be the end of that program on our soil. But Drones in other countries apparently kill innocents all the time, and there is no one to stop them. This kind of activity probably does more damage to our country in the form of additional enemies and retaliatory attacks than it prevents.

mj - the same one commented 2013-02-12 17:21:01 -0500 · Flag

@ Visitor 55: Remember the brouhaha that came from the frightwingers when KSM was going to go on trial in NYC?

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Visitor 55 commented 2013-02-12 16:22:09 -0500 · Flag

Obama “doesn’t have the courage to put terrorists on trial”??? Really? Because I remember when President Obama tried to put Gitmo suspects on trial and the FoxGOPTV pigs shat their panties because the trials would be inside the U.S. Who really doesn’t have courage? FoxGOPTV pigs!

Aria Prescott commented 2013-02-12 16:05:42 -0500 · Flag

As I posted on the first posts about this, a law passed one week after 9/11 made drones against Americans who ally with the enemy legal.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ40/html/PLAW-107publ40.htm

Despite the protests of the same people who conveniently forgot John McCain penned the “Indefinite Detention” provision, Drones against Americans is a morality issue at this point. The LAPD is already making the case for how they can be abused in real time taking little side trips hunting Dorner.

Imagine someone like, say… Mitt Romney with control of something like this.

The major remaining legal issue is the geographical boundaries; oversight and final clearance are both being reformed. It’s funny how Fox News is bitching about the reform, while largely treating the dismissive attitude towards boundaries as an afterthought. It says a lot about them.

NewsHounds posted about Fox & Friends: Obama Uses Drones Because ‘He Doesn’t Have The Courage’ To Put Terrorists On Trial on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2013-02-12 15:02:12 -0500

Even though Brian Kilmeade obviously supports the drone program, he didn't challenge this ridiculous assertion.