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Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
OK, you guys are scaring me now. Do you honestly believe this has not been done at the order or request of the U.S. government more than 10,000 times since 1950?
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I am sure it has been done but I think you are overestimating it. In addition, what the government does clandestinely is different from what they publicly announce they will do. Thinking that your government is doing something like that but not really having any proof of it and not attempting to do anything about it is not the same as supporting it.
In the past, Americans may have not condemned that the government did those things, but now many of us rabidly support our government doing this. That is different. I would have not been surprised to find out the CIA assasinated rebel leaders in central america, but I wouldn't have cheered them on. I will openly cheer and weep the day I find out OBL is dead. That is different than how I have ever felt in the past about this kind of activity.
The US has openly admitted that OBL is to be taken dead or alive and offered a reward and the American public widely supports this. I don't think Americans have felt that way about state sponsored assasination anytime recently. Maybe during WWI/II or civil war days or something like that, but not since the cold war began.
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Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
Do you distinguish whether its the White House asking an ally or agent, or the White House ordering an employee? Is it okay if its a CIA contractor fulfilling a contract with the CIA? A friendly foreign intelligence agency repaying a favor?
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There is no moral difference. The difference is that in the past, Americans may have chosen not to condemn this, but now we openly support and encourage our government to do this.
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Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
And I have no idea why we as a people would ever have been absolutely opposed to these activities, whether preemptive or retaliatory.
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Because we worry that the information may not be accurate and that innocent people may get killed. We are more willing to accept collateral casualties after 9/11 precisely because we have been attacked. Prior to 9/11, we were less willing to accept collateral casualties.
