Ron Paul: Don't Be Surprised if Obama Launches Drone Strike on Edward Snowden

Ron Paul is stroking the fire once again by claiming that the United States may execute a drone attack against PRISM leaker Edward Snowden on Chinese soil. Paul stressed his concerns on Fox Business Network on Tuesday, saying he was worried “somebody in our government might kill [Snowden] with a cruise missile or a drone missile,” adding that “we live in a bad time where American citizens don’t have rights, and that they can be killed” without due process guaranteed by our Constitution.

Snowden, a former employee of the NSA and contractor Booz Allen & Hamilton, fled to Hong Kong prior to admitting that he was responsible for leaking information regarding the top-secret PRISM program in which the NSA used cell phones and major internet service providers to gather massive amounts of information from Americans in the name of fighting terror.

While Paul’s claim may seem outlandish, it follows a pattern of the U.S. government’s way of dealing with dissidents in recent years during the War on Terror. However, launching a drone strike in China would be outlandish, and a potential act of war. Roughly 1,100 Chinese fighter planes and an anti-missile defense system sit in a valley just north of Hong Kong, and a slow-moving drone would undoubtedly trigger the attention of both.

There is no doubt that the U.S. government will unabashedly go after Snowden, but the manner in which they do so remains to be seen. We can only wonder how the government would respond under the leadership of a President Paul.