Anwar al-Awlaki: legitimate target?

Terrorists who kill innocent people are evil. Home grown terrorists are worse but the fact that Anwar al-Awlaki was a US citizen has caused some people anxiety insisting that the rule of law should have prevailed and he should have been brought to justice. But Islamist terrorists do not respect our laws, only those of Allah.


As I mentioned in response to the NewStatesman article linked above, as an Islamist, Anwar al-Awlaki would not recognise US courts anyway, so why should victims of his hate concern themselves? Martyrdom through a touch of his own medicine would surely be his preference. Unlike the Kafir he despised so much he was mistaken in his beliefs so he will have his just reward, but not 70 virgins he might be expecting!


Now another headline as emerged, "Awlaki death unlikely to concern Arab world", emphasising how complicated these issues can be. If the Arab world will not miss him, why should we? He was a legitimate target whose poison was best neutralised.