Do we really need Secret Death Panels and Assassination Drones to protect us?
How much of a real "threat" are these "terrorists" and "traitors"?
...small bands of outlaws/outcasts, hiding in primitive deserts,
plotting against the USA,
committing "treason" while sitting around a camp fire,
training on monkey bars and shooting AK47s.
Do they really merit an abridgement of our Constitution,
and a surrendering of our civil protections?
Are we so frightened of a handful of asshole "traitors" like John Walker Lindh...
....that we are willing to accept the collateral damage killing and maiming of innocent children in our quest for "justice"?
The handful of Saudi criminals that attacked us on 9-11
should have been caught and arrested long before they committed their crimes, and this was BEFORE the creation of the Homeland Security Department.
9-11 was a demonstration of poor Law Enforcement much more than a demonstration of the power of terrorists.
Bill Clinton managed to capture, put on public trial, and imprison all the perpetrators of the original WTC bombing in the 90s without Death Drones and Assassination lists.
How much more of a threat do we create by the inevitable mistakes and "collateral damage"
that happen with these strikes?
How many more "terrorists" do we create?
Do YOU have the capacity to Stand in their Shoes and see your children killed by Death from the Sky without warning,
ordered by people you had never seen,
as revenge for an act for which you have no responsibility,
an act that was also committed by other people you had never seen?
We have the technology and capability to track and intercept these threats before they cause harm by using Surveillance and International Law Enforcement.
Why is it so important to kill them where they sit TODAY by whatever means when we can just watch, track, wait, and quietly grab them at another time?
Lesson from the Past:
An entire WAR with the deaths of MILLIONS of innocents was justified in SE Asia because:
[font size=3]"If we don't fight the Communists there,
we will be fighting them in California."[/font]
We LOST that WAR and retreated back to the USA with our tails between our legs.
The policy of Killing them ALL was a lot harder than the warmongers had figured.
As it turned out,
the "Communists" (the "terrorists" of the 60s) never showed up in California.
Go figure.
Maybe we should have just left them alone 
As an American citizen, I have certain Rights.
These Rights are discussed frequently.
But as an American citizen I also have certain Responsibilities
which are not discussed so frequently.
One of the Responsibilities bestowed upon me
it the responsibility to provide oversight.
I have the responsibility to observe my government perform its duties.
It is my responsibility to attend Public Trials,
to view the evidence,
and to hear the governments case.
It is ALL of our JOBS to provide this necessary oversight,
and to Speak Out when the government fails to adequately perform its duties.
If these activities are cloaked in secrecy for whatever reason,
I am unable to fulfill my responsibilities in this democracy.
Democracies do not thrive in secrecy.
Must we surrender our Democracy in order to protect our Democracy?
[font size=3]"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."[/font]--Ben Franklin
= new reply since forum marked as read
Thank you.
Nothing to add to that. 
Beautiful, necessary OP.
