"We saw in the Saddam Hussein trial how the U.S. is so genuinely dedicated to fair trials and the dignified execution of the death penalty. Today in Somalia that commitment to justice was on display again:
"'A senior Pentagon official confirmed for NBC News Monday that a U.S. helicopter gunship conducted a strike against two suspected al-Qaida operatives in southern Somalia."Note the multiple nature of the suspicion. These men are believed responsible for acts of terrorism, and the people who were attacked were believed to be the men in question. Evidently that forms a sound basis for administering (or, at least, attempting to administer) the death penalty, at least by U.S. standards.
"'The operatives are believed to be responsible for the 1998 bombings in Kenya and Tanzania as well as 2002 attacks on Israeli tourists in Kenya and the attempted downing of an Israeli aircraft the same day.
"Update: And now, to no one's surprise whose memory goes back further than a day or two, the obvious corollary development:
"'Helicopter gunships attacked suspected al-Qaida fighters in the south Tuesday after U.S. forces staged airstrikes in the first offensive in the African country since 18 American soldiers were killed there in 1993, witnesses said."And along the lines of what I wrote above, consider this sentence:
"'Witnesses said 31 civilians, including two newlyweds, died in the assault by two helicopters near Afmadow.
"'Witnesses said at least four civilians were killed Monday evening in Hayi, including a small boy.
"'The Islamic extremists are believed to be sheltering suspects in the embassy bombings."They are believed to be sheltering suspects - that's U.S. grounds for assassination of them and anyone who happens to be in the vicinity. Meanwhile, the U.S. is known to be sheltering an admitted and convicted terrorist, Luis Posada Carriles.
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