al_Awlaki killing. Obama is asked "Did you give that order?"

[chill_wind]

In a radio interview with Michael Smerconish on Friday afternoon, Mr. Obama declined to say whether he gave the order to kill al-Awlaki, saying he could not discuss operational details.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20113915-503544.html

Smerconish: "Did you give that order?"

interview at the link
http://www.smerconish.com/

operational "details". :wtf:


Did he or did he not order the killing of al_Awlaki?

That was a yes or no question. Simple question. No further details requested.

Why the evasion?

[ixion]

1. He doesn't want to admit it, because the Bush Doctrine is built on a bogus

legal framework, and he knows it. That didn't stop him from using it, though, just admitting to it.

[Poll_Blind]

13. ^ This

PB

[EFerrari]

22. Yep.

[JVS]

31. Gotta keep your plausible deniability. A year from now, one of the GOP chucklefucks will ask him...

about this and make much light of his reluctance to answer.

[Cali_Democrat]

33. Indeed.

He knows.

[Angry Dragon]

2. If he did not who else in this country has to power to order the

killing of US citizens without a trial??

[YellowCosmicSun]

3. He ordered it a long time ago. Who cares if he said "Shoot now"?

They've been bombing places for months trying to get this guy.

[TheWraith]

4. And that's probably why he evaded.

There was a standing order on the guy, so they didn't need to go back and get a personal real time order from the POTUS.

[YellowCosmicSun]

8. There have been news reports for a while saying a house got blown up and we just missed this guy.

Why the sudden surprise around here?

Oh, right. Obama did it.....

[sad sally]

26. Transparent government? You bet.

3.49pm: More great moments in White House press briefings, from today:

Question: Can you explain to us how the US confirmed his death, since he'd been dead before and then found alive, Awlaki. Could it only be a Yemeni source? Or did the U.S. government...

Carney: I don't have an answer to that, actually. I don't know.

[chill_wind]

15. He wasn't asked "when". He was simply asked "Did you?" n/t

[gateley]

5. Since when did Presidents answer questions they didn't want

to? Regardless of it's a yes/no or other. Did you really expect him to?

[Harmony Blue]

6. Fair enough but when you are on a radio show

aren't such questions to be expected?

[gateley]

29. Yeah, but didn't he dance around it in a not-really-answering

type of way? I didn't hear it, but I'm just assuming. Even if it wasn't a controversial move, I don't think he would have answered yes or no anyway -- kind of part of that "security" cloak stuff. They never give straight answers. :7

[hlthe2b]

7. To the extent there is any legality at all, he alone had to give the order...

I don't know how he thinks he can avoid the question...:shrug:

[chill_wind]

14. And what was the problem

affirming that for on the public record today? Instead of some dodge about "operational details."
It was a direct simple question.

[BlueIris]

9. Uh-oh.

Duh-duh-duh.

:nuke:

[Recovered Repug]

10. Here is Obama's response.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j2F4VcBmeo

[bhikkhu]

11. The NYT reported that the president had "signed off on it" in April, 2010

...after which I don't think it matters much what the day-to-day circumstances were. The chain of command puts the president at the head of the military command structure, and it was a military strike, so the decision resided with him.

I haven't seen any evasion myself, and its all public record, and old news really.

[chill_wind]

12. Thanks. Smerconish wasn't interviewing the New York Times.

[bhikkhu]

16. Perhaps if he read the times, he would have known

...or realized that the question was answered over a year ago.

[FarCenter]

17. President's signed off on every "Wanted, dead or alive" poster?

[chill_wind]

21. Depends. How many like this are there, exactly?

[UTUSN]

18. I say "wtf" about this question/thread. n/t

[Turbineguy]

19. If he was more like Reagan

he would have quipped, "Rush Limbaugh is next!"

[customerserviceguy]

20. The best reason for him not to say, "Yes"

is that he could say, "Hell, yes."

[spanone]

23. he's not going to answer that question and he shouldn't.

[cwydro]

24. If Bush had done the same thing...

well...

[BeyondGeography]

25. Who gives a shit

[demosincebirth]

27. He should have given the Sgt Shultz response and leave it at that.

[EFerrari]

28. I wonder if he was trying to avoid making a statement

that could be looped in the media by someone?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

30. "The Buck stops here" is no longer operable under this "transparent" administration. CYA is.

[PufPuf23]

32. POTUS Obama was out of the operational info loop

of a criminal and anti-American act and is most comfortable.

My remark has close to zero to do about the "terrorists" murdered but about modern western civilization and norms like Habeas corpus.

The blood lust of some at DU make me ill.