Maher Cheers Murder of U.S. Citizen Awlaki, Favored Civilian Trial for 9/11 Mastermind KSM
It really has been amazing watching dovish media members who were perpetually complaining about the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay and the enhanced interrogation of its residents when George W. Bush was president now cheering the assassination of United States citizen turned terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki. A fine example of this hypocrisy occurred on HBO's “Real Time” Friday when the host who just last year supported a civilian trial for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed applauded Awlaki's murder while encouraging his audience to join in the merriment (video follows with transcript and commentary, vulgarity warning): BILL MAHER, HOST: No, I know why you're happy tonight. President bad ass has done it again. A predator drone killed Anwar al-Awlaki. You can applaud that if you like. [Applause] He is Al-Awlaki, is the, well United States citizen is what he is. He was living in Yemen, became the world's most wanted terrorist. And it just shows once again do not f–k with Obama. This was how Friday's show began: a liberal Hollywoodan cheered what many would consider an unConstitutional assassination of a U.S. citizen and encouraged his liberal audience to celebrate with him. It almost defies the imagination. A few minutes later, while discussing national security issues with the Washington Post's Dana Priest, Awlaki came up again: DANA PRIEST, WASHINGTON POST: Bin Laden's dead. Al Qaeda's almost dead. And the guys who really know what they're doing and women they have a bead on the organizations that are coming up. That's al-Awlaki. That's why he got whacked. MAHER: That’s why he got whacked, and I’m glad he did. “That’s why he got whacked, and I’m glad he did.” After dismissing Priest, Maher brought Awlaki up with his exclusively liberal panelists: MAHER: And Chris Christie the other night, the new flavor of the month as they call him, the new man crush of the Republican Party, was at the Reagan library, and he said in his big speech that the president was just a bystander in the Oval Office. And then the next day Obama killed al-Awlaki, which I love. So I just want to say: maybe Obama’s bad at class warfare, but warfare warfare, he's pretty good. FORMER MICHIGAN GOVERNOR JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D): I would say so. [Applause] A few minutes later: MAHER: So were we right to kill al-Awlaki. I mean, look, Ron Paul, who I don’t agree with on a lot of things, but he has the balls the size of a Smart Car. He really does. He came out… SALMAN RUSHDIE, AUTHOR: Not necessarily helpful. MAHER: Maybe not. But, you know, he said we shouldn't do it. He said, his points were this is an American citizen Awlaki, never killed anybody personally. We're not at war with Yemen and he never had a trial. I don't agree with that, but you know… “He never had a trial. I don't agree with that.” Readers are advised to remember this. SETH MACFARLANE, CREATOR “FAMILY GUY: It's a weird gray area because my first instinct when I read this was, “Well, yeah, that makes perfect sense.” There was no feasible way that we could arrest this guy. So what else do you do? If Osama bin Laden would had been an American citizen we still would have had to go in and deal with him as we did. GRANHOLM: Take him out. Take him out.
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on October 1, 2011. Filed under