U.S. Born Awlaki: Joined Enemy And Killed

01 October 2011 |permalink | email article

Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, released his new findings on national security on Friday which suggested that the Republican Party is better able to protect the country from international terrorism and military threats than the Democrats by 49% to 38%. Unfortunately for Newport, the poll was released the same day the Obama administration confirmed the death of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric and a high-profile terror suspect in Yemen in a drone aircraft attack.

In the 2008 presidential campaign Rudy Giuliani and, more importantly, Republican presidential nominee John McCain attacked Barack Obama for being clueless in understanding threats to American security.

But it turns out that on national security issues the president has a better record of success than any of his recent predecessors, notably George W. Bush. The killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by elite Navy Seals stands as a significant rebuke to McCain’s rants and key right-wing Republican elites.

But, surprisingly, almost all the leading candidates for the Republican nomination, notably minus Ron Paul, applauded Obama for the action against Awalaki, who advocated jihad against the United States. Even former conservative GOP presidential candidate Pat Buchanan applauded Obama’s success. 

In addition to bin Laden, other prominent killings in Al Qaeda’s more important branches have included Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, his No. 2 in an August drone strike in August in Afghanistan, and Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, his No.3, killed in a drone strike in May 2010. Awalaki was regarded as the most active Qaeda affiliate in the West, largely because of two failed attacks against the United States since 2009.

 

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