Two years ago, around this time of the year, we learned that U.S. President Barack Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. There were those who thought that the move was a bit premature, but that was a euphoric time. World peace was surely just around the corner. The White House had a new resident, and that was reason enough to see the world as a better place. Since then, Obama has settled into his role and discovered not only the U.S., but also the world. This explains his Zionist speech at the U.N. two weeks ago, and the war that he is energetically waging against the leadership of al-Qaida. Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox! However, there are some in the U.S., and in other places around the world as well, who raise doubts about the legality and morality (as The New York Times puts it) of the targeted assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki. Human rights organizations in the U.S. seek to remind us that Awlaki was an American citizen, and that his assassination, as opposed to that of Osama Bin Laden in May, goes against American principles. From their perspective, this was a rare case of an American citizen being executed by the government without a trial. The very same people who presumably voted for Obama in 2008 and worshiped him, let us say, now accuse him of taking upon himself the role of judge, jury and hangman. The truth, however, is that Obama, whose popularity is falling in the polls, has realized (in the run-up to the coming elections) what the U.S. expects from its president. In fact, he is acting precisely according to American principles. And, while this may not help him in light of the country's economic woes, he is following in the footsteps of his predecessor. On Sept. 17, 2001, less than a week after the attacks on the Twin Towers, President George W. Bush signed a presidential directive authorizing the CIA to pursue the terrorists around the world. The directive did not distinguish between American citizens and non-Americans. Bush's U.S. chose to pursue any terrorist who posed a threat to the security of the country and its citizens. Obama continues to uphold this policy. The Arab Spring, one must admit, also absorbed a blow yesterday. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh can insist until he is blue in the face that his return from Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with Awlaki's assassination on Friday. It will be difficult to let go of such a partner in the war on terror, even as the masses clamor to be rid of him.
