On Friday a U.S. armed drone strike in northern Yemen killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and jihadist who had risen near the top of the list of American terrorist targets in recent years because of his role in a succession of plots targeting the U.S.
In other words, an assassination.
Such an action during the Bush/Cheney administration would surely bring about a flurry of accusations that this was an unconstitutional act. But under Barack Obama? Crickets.
Oh, there have been some critics, none with a higher profile currently than Ron Paul, the GOP presidential candidate, who in an op-ed in the New York Daily News wrote:
Awlaki was a U.S. citizen. Under our Constitution, American citizens, even those living abroad, must be charged with a crime before being sentenced. As President, I would have arrested Awlaki, brought him to the U.S., tried him and pushed for the stiffest punishment allowed by law. Treason has historically been judged to be the worst of crimes, deserving of the harshest sentencing. But what I would not do as President is what Obama has done and continues to do in spectacular fashion: circumvent the rule of law.