I spent some time Tuesday with Robert Wexler, the “fire-breathing liberal” Democrat who left Congress to run the Center for Middle East Peace. There’s a lot in the piece, but one part I’ll pull out: Wexler’s take on the al-Awlaki killing.
It was good for America, he says, and helpful for his quest of brokering Middle East peace to help out Israel. “It shows a strong, bold, resolute president in defense of American interests,” he says. “As a result, America, as well as President Obama, gets more respect.” It helps America if an American citizen is killed by drones? “I think it’s totally within the bounds of the law. The more interesting legal questions will be: What about collateral damage? What about the unintended effects of some of these actions? Again, I think totally within the bounds of the law, but those may have factors that the law may not have anticipated.”
This is pretty much the neoliberal consensus on an issue that has generated a healthy amount of liberal anger.
