December 7, 2005:
Apparently the U.S. Navy SEALs have lost their blanket license to kill. In a recently issued navy document, it was announced that, "Under no circumstances shall any Department of the Navy personnel condone, support, encourage, engage in, or conspire to engage in the assassination of a specific individual or individuals." There was no other discussion of this in the Department of the Navy (which consists of the Navy and Marine Corps as two separate entities). Chances are, the admonition was issued as a bureaucratic covering of ones rear end. However, American Special Operations and intelligence operatives have been forbidden from using assassination for years. Then again, in wartime, how does one tell the difference between assassination and just another wartime killing.