Wallace highlighted the position taken by some liberals and conservatives that since al-Awlaki was an American citizen, he should have been subjected to the American justice system instead of being taken out on foreign soil. Bill Kristol argued that while it’s hard to issue someone a warrant when they’re hiding out in Yemen, the main reason the killing was justified is that al-Awlaki proudly boasted of his anti-American reactions and his responsibility in the deaths of U.S. citizens.
Juan Williams highlighted the comments made by Ron Paul on the issue and the notion it was a violation of al-Awlaki’s Fifth Amendment rights, but he ultimately sided with Kristol and agreed Obama made the right decision in this circumstance. However, he questioned whether the president or the administration had a
Mara Liasson did not seem to take any sides, but did point out that aside from Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, and the ACLU, no one from either party seems to have an objection to the president’s actions. Kristol dismissed Congressman Paul’s relevance to the national debate, saying he’s been “hanging out with 9/11 truthers.”
Wallace then brought up an article that found that in just three years, President Obama had ordered over five times as many drone strikes as President Bush did in eight. Kristol credited Obama for his progress in the war on terror, but Williams wondered why the president hasn’t made any definitive case for such military actions. Kristol shot back by insisting the president can’t just solve everything by making unilateral statements, he needs to consult with lawyers first.
Watch the video below, courtesy of Fox News: