Quote:
Originally Posted by dlish
Do you think the US strategy for people like him should change?
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No. Censoring free speech (or abridging any freedom) is a very dangerous slippery slope. Unless he specifically orders the killing of a person or people instead of just saying "it's okay", then he's guilty of an actual crime, but as it stands, Anwar al Awlaki is only at about a Glenn Beck level of line skirting between voicing an offensive opinion and inciting violence.
If the United States is to take anything away from this, though, it should be that quite often our horrible behavior can take an otherwise moderate seeming person and make them an extremist. We're obviously not totally to blame, as he is the one choosing his words, but invading sovereign nations, killing innocent people, kidnapping, torture, indefinite detention, cover-ups, and a complete lack of any accountability (those responsible for the war will never be held accountable) all contribute to a powerful and justifiable resentment. If Anwar al Awlaki's outburst is all the blowback we get for our crimes, we should count ourselves very, very lucky.
Unfortunately, though, all Anwar al Awlaki is really doing is making things worse. He's playing into the bogeyman Muslim construct being pushed on conservative talk radio, Fox News, and surprisingly often in TV and movies. In other words, in a way, he's assisting in an invaluable way the very people he wishes to stop. He should stop acting from emotion and actually think about the best way to solve these problems.