Use Of Military Force Against Terrorism - 1096 Words

In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the United States government passed a series of resolutions and acts that can be considered controversial by many. One of these resolutions is the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF). This resolution allows the President â€Å"To use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11th 2001†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (S.Res. 107-40). The resolution also mentions that it applies to those who were harboring said terrorists. This resolution was passed one week after the attacks, and it was passed by a resounding majority of four hundred twenty yea†¦show more content†¦While some might say that this is not a topic that directly affects Americans, in 2011 an American citizen was killed overseas in Yemen because of this resolution. Anwar-al-Awlaki was an American Citizen; he was killed by a drone strike while he was visiting Yemen. It was suspected that Awlaki was a high-ranking member of Al-Qaida, however it was never proven. The Obama administration also fought not to release information regarding Awlaki’s case in many lawsuits, claiming that they did not need to disclose the information (Ackerman). As of 2014, no definitive proof has been given regarding the relationship between Al-Qaida and Anwar-al-Awlaki. Another debate that stems from this issue has to do with the possibility of a similar incident happening on our soil. Theoretically, a US citizen, living on US soil, could be classified as a terrorist and also be killed on US soil, with the AUMF being used as justification. One of the main concerns with the AUMF is that no trial in necessary in order to be declared guilty, and that is where most of the controversy arose from when it came to the killing of Anwar-al-Awlaki. While this resolution was passed fourteen years ago, its implicatio ns are still being felt today. Another issue with the AUMF is that it is technically unconstitutional. The Bill of Rights applies to every US citizen, but if the President presumes