There seems to be no end to the insanity that has taken hold of the American psyche during the last few weeks. We all listened in shock as our President fought back his tears to tell the nation that 20 innocent children and six teachers were gunned down in Newtown, Connecticut. Later in the weekend, while America grieved and listened to a heart broken Robbie Parker talk about his beloved daughter Emilie, some demented person(s) left a kill list with the names of ten teachers to be murdered outside an Arlington, Texas Junior High School.

The kill list was found over the weekend and by Monday morning, several extra police officers were assigned to the two schools mentioned in the note. According to an anonymous source in the community, three teachers from Young Junior High School and seven teachers from Miller Elementary School were named as the targets.

Police Spokeswoman, Amy Casas, described the threat:

“The police believe there is no imminent threat to students or staff at either campus. However, the district and the police department will not take this investigation lightly.”

Arlington Independent School District sent a letter to parents on Monday and informed them about the threat in general terms. Neither the school district or the police have divulged the specific details or names of the intended victims to the public. Obviously, the authorities are respecting the privacy of the teachers and keeping back the details to preserve the rules of evidence.

Local authorities will maintain a presence at the schools while police continue the investigation and attempt to determine who created this depraved document. Police urge residents to remain calm while they leave no stone unturned to apprehended the perpetrator(s).

Principal Kelly Hastings tried to reassure concerned parents and teachers:

“Enhanced security procedures with additional police and school district personnel were put in place this morning. The [Arlington Police Department] is still investigating this incident to identify the person responsible for making this threat.”

It is hard to imagine the additional torment inflicted on Arlington by the party(s) who created this demented kill list. We must wonder what sort warped thinking or hatred would motivate anyone to perpetrate this psychological assault on an already wounded community. They have twisted a knife into the heart and soul of the good people of Arlington, Texas.

Yet, Arlington residents will unite, comfort each other and persevere. The haters may try and try, but they will never break the community’s spirit or harden their hearts. Instead, they will go home, hug our loved ones and begin to heal.

Kill List Naming Ten Teachers Found Outside Arlington, Texas Junior High School is a post from: The Inquisitr

The White House is moving to make a rule book for how to handle its “kill List” or, as some call it, his “disposition matrix“.  The kill list rule book is being made up to govern how the government should handle a situation where a known terrorist that has been marked for death is found and the drones are called in to take him or her out.  Until now, the kill list has been absent a rule book and orders have been given without any real guidelines.

The New York Times‘ Scott Shane has reported that President Obama was petrified that the list would need to be handed over to Mitt Romney in the advent he lost the election without any defined rules on how the strikes should be carried out.

Shane wrote quoting an unnamed US official:

“There was concern that the levers might no longer be in our hands.” said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

With a continuing debate about the proper limits of drone strikes, Mr. Obama did not want to leave an “amorphous” program to his successor, the official said. As of now, there is no set of guidelines in place to hold the President accountable in case a drone strike goes horribly wrong and winds up killing the wrong person, injures civilians, or leads to friendly fire deaths.  The President can order attacks on anyone he chooses without any fear that his actions will be judged.  Critics say this type of power is the mark of dictators.

The American public knows absolutely nothing as to how decisions are made to take out terrorists.  The President has only even referenced the issue once while doing an interview with the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Several government agencies have been asked for their input on the kill list rule book, including the Department of Defense, CIA, NSA, and the Department of Justice.  The kill list rule book was originally supposed to be completed by January in the event of an Obama loss, but, now that he has secured a second term, the rush is no longer necessary.

How do you feel about the government’s ability to target terrorists at will with drone strikes?

President Obama Drawing Up A Rule Book For The ‘Kill List’, Governing Those To Be Targeted In Drone Strikes is a post from: The Inquisitr

Who to kill, who to kill? President Obama is currently overseeing the creation of an Al Qaeda kill list.

According to the New York Times, Obama and about 100 counter-terrorism officials have worked their way through a list of potentially dangerous Al Qaeda members and put them on a “kill list” in order to specify new targets for the drone war in Pakistan and Yemen.

National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon said:

“(President Obama) is determined that he will make these decisions about how far and wide these operations will go. His view is that he’s responsible for the position of the United States in the world… He’s determined to keep the tether pretty short.”

According to Raw Story, the panel of about 100 counter-terrorism officials, worked their way through “biographies” of various suspected terrorists and nominated several people for the Al Qaeda kill list. The nominees are then sent to President Obama who personally signs off on fatal drone missions.

Obama, according to the Times, signed off on the mission that killed Al Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaqi, who was a US citizen.

The NY Times writes:

“When a rare opportunity for a drone strike at a top terrorist arises — but his family is with him — it is the president who has reserved to himself the final moral calculation.”

Reuters reports that the kill list process isn’t condoned by everyone. Former White House chief of staff William Daley said:

“One guy gets knocked off, and the guy’s driver, who’s No. 21, becomes 20?… At what point are you just filling the bucket with numbers?”

The report also describes a controversy within the organization. The Obama administration claims that civilian causalities in drone attacks are currently in single digits. That may be because the White House counts any man of fighting age within striking distance of a suspect as a militant.

One official said:

“Al Qaeda is an insular, paranoid organization — innocent neighbors don’t hitchhike rides in the back of trucks headed for the border with guns and bombs,”

Still, some officials believe that the single digit estimate of civilian casualties is unrealistic.

Obama Oversees Al-Qaeda Kill List is a post from: The Inquisitr