US President Barack Obama’s administration has authorized the targeted killing of an American citizen, radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the New York Times reported yesterday, citing US officials.
The rare, if not unprecedented, authorization was given earlier this year in the belief that Awlaki had gone from encouraging attacks on the US to directly participating in them, the Times said.
Awlaki, who was born in New Mexico but is now based in Yemen, has come under intense scrutiny since being linked to Major Nidal Hassan, a US army psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in November.
He also has been linked to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian who was arrested on charges of trying to bring down a US airliner with explosives as it was approaching to land at Detroit on Christmas Day last year.
“The danger Awlaki poses to this country is no longer confined to words,” the Times quoted a US official as saying. “He’s gotten involved in plots.”
“The United States works, exactly as the American people expect, to overcome threats to their security, and this individual — through his own actions — has become one,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
“Awlaki knows what he’s done, and he knows he won’t be met with handshakes and flowers. None of this should surprise anyone,” the official was quoted as saying.
US officials assert that international law permits the use of lethal force against individuals and groups who pose an imminent threat, the Times said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from