Anwar al-Awlaki was not alone in the vehicle which was struck by a Predator-fired hellfire missile. With him was another American citizen, Samir Khan, a propagandist who edited an al-Qaeda magazine which encouraged al-Qaeda followers to kill Americans.

So what does the State Department do? According to this story in the Charlotte Observer, Khan’s family received a phone call from someone at the State Department apologizing for Khan’s death. Harry Edwards, a State Department spokesman, confirmed to the Charlotte Observer  the call was made, but would not elaborate.

Apologizing for the death of a terrorist—U.S. citizen or not—is neither appropriate nor even the purview of the State Department. It is equivalent to apologizing to an arsonist for pouring water on the fire. Now, nothing happens in the State Department without the input of at least four or five individuals and often times more—the State Department likes to operate by consensus whenever possible. Anyone involved in blessing the decision to call the family of a terrorist to express condolences deserves nothing less than the unemployment line.