davidkretzmann.comNovember 10th, 2011
Hello Senator Paul, My name is David Kretzmann. I am a 19 year old student at Berea College in Kentucky; I’ve lived in Kentucky since August of 2010. Today I urgently write you to investigate the death of Abdulrahman Al-alwaki.
Within the past 45 days, three U.S. citizens have been killed at the hand of U.S. drone attacks in Yemen. The most well known of these incidents was the case of Anwar Alalwaki, the U.S. citizen born in New Mexico suspected (but never officially charged) of working with Al-Qaeda. Alalwaki was on the CIA’s public hit list, signed off by President Barack Obama, for 17 months prior to his assassination on September 30, 2011. Alalwaki’s constitutional rights as a U.S. citizen were ignored by the Obama administration, despite attempts from Alalwaki’s father and the ACLU to protect Alalwaki.
What’s even more disturbing than Alalwaki’s assassination is the death of his 16 year old son, Abdulrahman Al-alwaki, just two weeks later on October 14, 2011. Abdulrahman Al-alwaki was having a Friday night barbecue with his cousin and fellow teenage friends. A U.S. drone strike took their lives that night.
Abdulrahman Al-alwaki was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. He was an American citizen and just 16 years old. He was no less a U.S. citizen than you and I. He had no ties whatsoever to Al-Qaeda or any other militant group.
The Obama administration has been eerily silent on this matter, not so much as acknowledging that a U.S. drone strike killed a 16 year old American citizen. This is the primary reason I am writing you this letter. We need to know why Abdulrahman Al-alwaki was killed; whether it was an intentional killing (i.e. assassination), casualty of war, or a tragic misfire incident.
On November 2, 2011, hundreds of Yemeni individuals peacefully came together to protest U.S. drone attacks in Yemen. I highly encourage you to observe some of the pictures and footage that came out of this event; it is remarkable seeing these people come together to bring about a change in their country. Innocent civilians, including children and teenagers, are losing their lives in Yemen because of U.S. drone strikes. This is the heartbreaking reality for a growing number of families in Yemen, and demonstrates the urgency of the plea I bring to you today. (CONTINUE READING)
