http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/views-to-a-kill/?ref=opinion

     This article was very interesting. It discusses the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki by the United States government.
     I think the article had a fairly pursuasive argument. It attempts to convince the reader that such assassinations are not okay. It certainly has a strong appeal to logos. How can people who are against the death penalty support the killing of an alleged criminal who has not been given any sort of trial? The fact that the Obama administration does not publicize such things is also a sign that this is not an acceptable thing. The article says, "American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials." If this is true, I think it would be difficult to argue that it is totally okay.
     The article appeals to pathos too. It mentions the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, John Lennon, and JFK, among others. This could certainly get readers thinking of the term "assassination" in the worst light possible.

          What do I think of this article? Well, the term "assassinate" does not particularly bother me. Comparing the assassination of Lincoln to that of Osama bin Laden seems a bit silly. In fact, the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki  doesn't particularly upset me either. If the war on terror is really a war, then it seems necessary. Killing powerful individuals seems more effective than killing thousands of soldiers with wives and children.
     However, the article did make me a little worried. I have been raised to believe that our country is "the land of the free." We are free to say what we want, think what we want, etc. Part of this, I believe, is being free to know what is going on in our government. The idea of our government doing anything secretly is really what I find concerning. If our president can choose to kill any individual, with "no public record," then I think the whole checks-and-balances system of our government isn't working out the way it should.
    The article, however, did not fully convince me that it was one hundred percent factual. I am left hoping that is not true, or at least not as bad as the article says it is. If our president is actually controlling groups of assassins that kill any individual they choose, without attempting to capture them and give them a trial, I think people should be worried.

article: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/views-to-a-kill/?ref=opinion