We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Jadaliyya Roundtable on Targeted Killing: Introduction

Click here to access article by the editors of Jadaliyya.

The political operatives of the Empire have used targeted killings carried out secretly by the CIA, CIA contractors, and the Mossad for a number of years. With the recent advent of drone technology this has become much more convenient, and clearly they cherish their new weapon of choice to terrorize people into submitting to their dictates.  Now this practice is no longer a secret, and it has become official policy. However, there is one problem they have to deal with--state sponsored terrorism violates national and international laws. There are also other ominous consequences:
...the influence of US and Israeli arguments about the legality and legitimacy of targeted killings may embolden other states to follow suit, adopting the practice and asserting its legality. He warns that because the international community would probably respond to targeted killings by other regimes as terrorism, the current situation portends double standards similar to those which exist in relation to criminal accountability for gross crimes, and the proliferation of nuclear weaponry. He also argues that the use of self-defense rationales by the US to justify targeted killings in various countries has the potential to convert the whole world into a global battleground.
Here are links to four additional segments of this six part series. Apparently there is one yet to be posted.
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