{"id":220309,"date":"2026-05-07T21:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=220309"},"modified":"2026-05-07T21:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:00:37","slug":"anwar-al-awlaki-drone-strike-obama-kill-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/anwar-al-awlaki-drone-strike-obama-kill-list\/","title":{"rendered":"How Obama\u2019s Kill List Hunted an American Terrorist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>12<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Bonnie and Clyde to Anwar al-Awlaki, this hard-edged piece asks a nasty modern question: when does deadly force stop being controversial and start feeling inevitable?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonnie, Clyde, and the Old-School Case for Violent Justice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On 23 May 1934, a group of lawmen led by Texas Ranger Frank Hamer machinegunned Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow to death on a rural road in Bienville Parish in rural Louisiana. Their villainous gang of cutthroats had murdered nine police officers and four civilians during the course of their well-publicized reign of terror. At the time of his death, Barrow had sixteen outstanding warrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bonnie
When Frank Hamer’s posse got the opportunity to kill or capture Bonnie and Clyde, he just blew them both away. (Photo\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As near as we can tell, Hamer didn\u2019t waste too much effort trying to detain or confront the two star-crossed psychopaths. Once the car came into range, they just shot it all to pieces, ambush-style. By modern standards, this action violated countless law enforcement and constitutional dictates. However, at the time, Hamer and his crew were rightly venerated as heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern America, Violent Crime, and the Limits of Restraint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On 22 August 2025, a paranoid schizophrenic named DeCarlos Brown took out a folding knife and stabbed a 23-year-old Ukrainian immigrant named Iryna Zarutska to death while she sat in a Charlotte light rail car playing on her phone. Brown had been arrested and released at least fourteen times previously. He later admitted to not even knowing his victim. Every decent cop and concealed carrier in America wishes they were there that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Portrait
This attractive young lady was stabbed to death because she picked the wrong seat on a Charlotte light rail train. (Photo\/James Funeral Home)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m all about treating those with mental illness humanely and fairly. However, that guy just can\u2019t be walking around mingling with the rest of us. I wouldn\u2019t have been unduly broken up had he not survived to reach the jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iryana\u2019s death will no doubt provoke yet another firestorm between Left and Right in America. The mayor of Charlotte used the event to demand funding for more cops. I do love me some cops, but that\u2019s not the problem here. This scumbag had already been locked up fourteen times. The Charlotte fuzz have been doing their jobs. Leftists just won\u2019t keep bad guys in jail. Also, good luck telling me I can\u2019t carry a gun next time I wander into some crowded urban space. I fear that ship has sailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Philosophy of Killing Bad Men Before They Kill Again<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It has been said that our criminal justice system is the second-worst on Planet Earth. It is simply that everybody else ties for first. The point of all of this sordid stuff is that some folks obviously just need killing. It\u2019s in the specific details where things get murky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mugshot
This is Decarlos Brown. Apparently, he killed an innocent girl on a light rail train because the voices in his head told him to. (Photo\/Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I can be pretty tough on the Clintons and Obamas of the world. I covet a firm hand in the White House myself, and these two guys didn\u2019t seem to have it. However, I\u2019ll give credit where credit is due. Obama chose to kill Osama bin Laden when he had the opportunity. Kudos for that. He also took a chance and whacked Anwar al-Awlaki in a drone strike back in 2011. A great many people took umbrage with that one. Speaking solely for myself, I\u2019m not sure al-Awlaki will really be missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who was Anwar al-Awlaki, the American Jihadist?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anwar Nasser Abdulla al-Awlaki was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 1971 to Yemeni parents. While growing up, he split his time between Yemen and the US. He fancied himself an Islamic imam despite having few, if any, theological qualifications. Regardless, there were still those who listened to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Anwar
This was Anwar Nasser Abdulla al-Awlaki. He was a turd, but he was an American turd. President Obama killed him in a drone strike in Yemen. (Photo\/ Muhammad Ud-Deen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Al-Awlaki earned a degree in Civil Engineering from Colorado State and also spent time training with the mujahideen in Afghanistan. He later earned a master\u2019s degree in Education Leadership from San Diego State and worked on a doctorate in Human Resource Development from George Washington University. This guy knew America and Americans quite well and still hated us all anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Moderate Image to Open Jihadist Propagandist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For a time at least, al-Awlaki seemed like he might actually be one of the Good Guys. Some saw him as a moderate. He was once invited to speak at the US Department of Defense. He also vilified the 911 terrorists, saying, \u201cThere is no way that the people who did this could be Muslim, and if they claim to be Muslim, then they have perverted their religion.\u201d Over time, however, all that seemed to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Major
This is Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan. He was a card-carrying monster. This guy murdered fourteen soldiers and DA civilians back in 2009. He purportedly took his inspiration from Anwar Nasser Abdulla al-Awlaki. (Photo\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Al-Awlaki eventually came to despise almost everything about the country of his birth. He spoke out vociferously against US government policy and was connected to Major Nidal Hasan, the worthless sack of skin who shot up Fort Hood back in 2009. Al-Awlaki called for jihad or holy war to be waged against the United States at every opportunity. For these sins, as well as many others, al-Awlaki made it onto President Obama\u2019s CIA kill list in April of 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside Obama\u2019s CIA Kill List and the Disposition Matrix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The CIA kill list is really not something any reasonable person might wish to be on. The official appellation is the Disposition Matrix. This is a formal database that the US government uses to track really, really bad guys who wish to do us harm. It replaced the former system of dual scrutiny overseen by both the National Security Council and the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"President
President Obama looks like a pretty fun bloke. He was actually the guy who started the CIA’s terrorist kill list. (Photo\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Disposition Matrix was Obama\u2019s baby. Under his watch, it became a permanent component of US policy. Things move fast in the Information Age. President Obama felt he needed the power to respond quickly if ever these rancid personalities peeked above ground long enough to get their heads blown off. There was little, if any, due process in the traditional sense. As a result, some felt that it might not be such a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not like this list was some closely-held secret. Al-Awlaki knew he was on it. So did his family. In the summer of 2010, al-Awlaki\u2019s dad coordinated with the ACLU to file a lawsuit trying to force the CIA to take his son off the list. An ACLU spokesman said, \u201cThe United States is not at war in Yemen, and the government doesn’t have a blank check to kill terrorism suspects wherever they are in the world. Among the arguments we’ll be making is that, outside actual war zones, the authority to use lethal force is narrowly circumscribed, and preserving the rule of law depends on keeping this authority narrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ACLU, the Constitution, and a Very Selective Outrage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know where you stand on the ACLU as an organization. I\u2019m a big fan of the US Constitution myself and will gladly lend an ear to most anybody who purports to defend it. Where the ACLU falls catastrophically short, in my opinion, is that they tend to pick and choose what parts of the Constitution they take seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"AR-15
The AR-15 is the most popular long gun in America. There are literally tens of millions of them in private hands. The ACLU isn’t convinced they warrant protection under the 2d amendment. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ACLU will move heaven and earth to defend free speech among some of the most repugnant personalities. However, they just give the 2d amendment a pass. Their official position is that the Second Amendment relates solely to militia service and is not an individual right. They fundamentally disagree with the Supreme Court’s interpretation in Heller. In my view, at least, that negates any credibility they might have had. I mean, \u201cThe right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed\u201d is actually in the document. Regardless, the al-Awlaki lawsuit went nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Drone Strike Missed, the Second One Did Not<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On 5 May 2011, US forces launched a drone attack against a car al-Awlaki was riding in while in Yemen. Two al-Qaeda terrorists were killed, but al-Awlaki escaped. Killing people with drones is admittedly an inexact science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"MQ-1
Drone strikes represent the President’s unambiguous long arm of justice. All modern American chief executives have used them. (Photo\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On 30 September of that same year, al-Awlaki was transitioning from the Al Jawf Governate in Yemen to the Ma\u2019rib area by motor vehicle when he and his buddies stopped to grab a little breakfast en route. While outside, someone spotted a drone circling overhead. Al-Awlaki and his mates jumped back into their vehicle and took off. However, a hellfire missile tops out at Mach 1.3. Al-Awlaki never stood a chance. He was blown to smithereens alongside another proper villain named Samir Khan, himself an American born in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hellfire Missile That Made the Hit Possible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"AH-1
The Hellfire missile was originally designed to be fired from helicopter gunships. It is a shockingly versatile weapon system.(Photo\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I have a friend who was one of five military officers who first strapped an AGM-114 Hellfire missile onto a Predator surveillance drone. His story about how that came about is frankly mesmerizing. It\u2019s not just every day you meet somebody who, legit, changed the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hellfire stands for helicopter-launched fire and forget. This laser-guided, solid-fuel missile weighs about 100 pounds and was originally designed for use on attack helicopters. My friend and his mates realized that two of them would fit nicely underneath the wings of a Predator. Some modern variants also utilize radar guidance. The MQ-9 Reaper drone will pack as many as eight Hellfires at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AGM-114R-9X, also known as the \u201cGinsu Missile,\u201d doesn\u2019t even have a warhead. This diabolical little monster sports a handful of hardened steel blades that pop out just before impact and slice and dice whatever is in its path. You can read about it here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abu Khayr al-Masri and the Ginsu Missile<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fallout of Killing an American with a Drone Strike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Certain folks came unglued over the targeted killing of two American citizens by the Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA. For his part, President Obama said, \u201cThe death of Awlaki is a major blow to Al-Qaeda’s most active operational affiliate. He took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans \u2026 and he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children \u2026 Al-Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.\u201d Of the decision he made to kill al-Awlaki, Obama said it was, \u201can easy one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"MQ-9
It’s a brave new world where the President can kill most anybody on Planet Earth while sitting in the Situation Room. We are all going to have to figure out how to live in that space. (Photo\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I freely acknowledge that the power to kill almost anybody in the world from the comfort of your living room has great potential for abuse. However, I am reminded of these stories where folks get attacked outside of bars at 2 a.m. Nothing good ever happens outside a bar at 2 a.m. Stop being a terrorist, and chances are nobody will blow you up with an anti-tank missile when you pull over for breakfast on a nice cross-country drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I type these words, President Trump just blew up his second Venezuelan drug boat in international waters. The Left is predictably screaming, but it was a drug boat. It sported multiple outboard motors, and there were big bags of drugs floating about in the aftermath. Nothing screams, \u201cYou really should have found a real job!\u201d like getting pulverized on the open seas while trying to smuggle dope into America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t trust my government, like at all. However, as we have seen in Ukraine, stuff like this is clearly the wave of the future. Disposition Matrices and wandering drones dispensing death across national boundaries are unfortunate aspects of our modern world. We\u2019d best just stop whining and figure it all out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n