Bill gives authority to kill bin Laden
Would provide non-government forces permission to take out terrorist

By Jon Dougherty
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

A noted libertarian-leaning congressman has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives designed to give "President Bush a surgical and precise weapon" to use against suspected Saudi exiled terrorist Osama bin Laden.

On Wednesday, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, introduced H.R. 3076, "The September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001," which would authorize the White House to order the capture or killing of bin Laden, and not necessarily by official military personnel.

"The founders and authors of our Constitution provided an answer for the difficult tasks that we now face," Paul, who is also a medical doctor, said in a statement. "When a precise declaration of war was impossible due to the vagueness of our enemy, the Congress was expected to take it upon themselves to direct the reprisal against an enemy not recognized as a government."

The weapon Congress once used to defend against "terrorism on the high seas" was for lawmakers "to grant letters of marque and reprisal," said a press release issued by Paul's lobbying organization, The Liberty Committee.

"Congressman Ron Paul has said that Congress can do more to fulfill its constitutional obligation of providing for the defense of our sovereign nation, and granting President Bush the authority to grant letters of marque and reprisal is exactly what Congress should do," said Kent Snyder, director of the committee.

Article I, Section 8, Clauses 10 and 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to define offenses against the law of nations and to authorize the use of non-governmental persons or entities to capture those who commit those offenses, Snyder said.

"Americans want Osama bin Laden and the other people responsible for the attacks upon our sovereign nation to be captured or killed, and using letters of marque and reprisal will be another weapon of war that President Bush can use to make that happen," Snyder said.

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