[video=youtube;Nt6kKhlX8vU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt6kKhlX8vU&sns=em[/video]
I have read it. No law, including the Constitution applies outside of our borders except when it concerns our citizens, and even that is limited with regard to our citizens also being subject to the laws of the country they are in.
We aren't even remotely close to saying the US cannot prosecute a war.
Outside of American citizens, the Constitution literally cannot apply to any other person.
I hold little faith in that ever happening.
I say, again - the text does not support the idea that citizens and non-citizens are different. Either the law applies to *both* or to neither.
I agree with you that US criminal law generally does not apply outside our borders - but it does not apply to either citizens or non-citizens.
That is incorrect. The Constitution applies to everyone within our borders. Whether you are a citizen or not, you get due process if you are to face criminal charges within the US. As you note, the US doesn't get to prosecute people who are acting in other nations, as our law does not apply - again, citizenship is not relevant. If a crime was committed within our borders, and the suspect then left, we can generally only ask for them to be extradited, such that we can then go through our normal legal processes for prosecuting a crime.
Thus, the only time we get to extend our arms to people who are elsewhere is when it *isn't* a question of criminal law. I reiterate that the Founding Fathers clearly understood that there were cases where criminal law did not apply - within our borders or without, even short of a declaration of war. The AUMF sits as a case of governmental recognition/declaration of such a situation.
Lack of faith in the possibility leads to self-fulfilling prophecy. The world cannot change if you do not act as if it can be changed.
Mind you, the AUMF is not "massive". It is 315 words. 151 words if we toss out the preamble as non-binding fluff. That it is broad and open-ended is bleedingly obvious, not hidden in 17 levels of sub-sections and appendices.
I say, again - the text does not support the idea that citizens and non-citizens are different. Either the law applies to *both* or to neither.
It can't apply to both outside the borders and it can apply to citizens. What you say is only true within the U.S.
I dutifully cast my vote in vain against those that act that way. If my vote was the only one that mattered, the country would be in much better hands right now. It's not, though, so the masses of sheep that keep re-electing incompetent leaders continue to lead our country astray.
Please don't use the word 'sheep' in a serious post unless you're referring to Ovis aries, it's really pretentious and detracts from your position.