Wednesday, January 6, 2010

No Civilian Trials for Terrorists

Stop what you are doing.  I need your help real quick.


It is to protest the civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City.

Human Events put it together and I'm glad to put my name on it.  We're going to deliver this petition to the government and protest this senseless act by Barack Obama.

I don't know how many people are going to get killed because Obama would rather lawyer up than soldier up, but we need to make sure the government knows the American people think this KSM trial is nuts.

 


Americans are often smarter than those they elect to govern them.  According to a December 31 Rasmussen poll, “Fifty-eight percent (58%) of U.S. voters say waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques should be used to gain information from the terrorist who attempted to bomb an airliner on Christmas Day.”

Instead of being shipped off to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is lawyered-up in a Detroit jail, beyond the reach of CIA interrogators.  And forget waterboarding.  Thanks to the McCain Amendment of 2005, waterboarding -- which was legal when it was applied to Abu Zubaydeh, KSM and others -- is now probably illegal under US law. I say “probably” because the McCain amendment made a clear definition of “torture” so vague that it’s probably unconstitutional.

But no matter: President Obama has prohibited the use of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” which served to save lives during the Bush administration.  


Not only have we tortured the law of torture, we have tortured the law on military commissions.  When President Bush signed an order authorizing them, he probably didn’t foresee that the trials would be delayed and modified several times by Congress and in two trips to the Supreme Court.  Congress -- in the 2009 amendments to the military commissions law -- relabeled “enemy combatants” as “unprivileged enemy belligerents.”  At least they’re not yet “underprivileged enemy belligerents.” Yet.

So now Abdulmutallab -- as well as the 9-11 plotters, Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other members of the al Qaeda varsity -- will be tried in media circuses in civilian courts.  The New York trials -- announced in mid-November -- are to be paralleled by military commission trials of other big-time terrorists such as Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of planning the 2000 attack on the USS Cole which took seventeen sailors’ lives and nearly sank the ship.

Is there any reason to distinguish between the al-Qaeda varsity to be tried in New York and the others who are going to be tried -- in accordance with US constitutional and statutory law -- in military commissions?  No.  The only distinguishing factor is President Obama’s desire to close Gitmo and prove -- at all costs -- that he is wiser than his predecessor.

Under Obama’s plans, inmates at the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will either be transferred to nations such as Yemen (from whence came Abdulmutallab’s attack, mounted by an al-Qaeda cell comprised, in part, of at least two Gitmo alumni previously released to Yemen), moved to New York for celebrity trials or to Thomson, Illinois for continued incarceration.

In his weekly address, President Obama described Yemen as a nation that is suffering from crushing poverty and threatened by deadly insurgencies, as if one created the other.  He assured us that we were “strengthening our partnership” with the Yemeni government to fight those “insurgents.”

Obama has strengthened our “partnership” with Yemen by closing our embassy there because -- according to White House terrorism advisor John Brennan (the same John Brennan who was a key member of George Tenet’s pre-9-11 CIA team) -- there is intelligence indicating an intended al-Qaeda attack against them. But Obama’s action in Yemen is a retreat: it reduces our presence in Yemen by one key base for CIA (and other agencies’) operations there.
Yesterday, the president announced that he was suspending the transfer of Gitmo inmates to Yemen.  Not barring, mind you. And the State Department announced it was revoking Abdulutallab's visa. It's enough to make you weep.
On last weekend’s Sunday talk shows, Brennan repeatedly said that the Obama administration was still considering -- on a case-by-case basis -- releasing some Gitmo inmates to the Yemenis.  Brennan also said that there are probably hundreds of al-Qaeda members in Yemen.

Closing Gitmo is still more important to Obama than keeping dedicated terrorists off the global battlefield.  He repeated yesterday his decision to close it, persevering in the false assertion that it's a principal cause in al Queda's success in recruiting terrorists. He said it was the proximate cause of al Queda's forming its "al Queda in the Arab Peninsula" branch. Which, of course, is al Queda's assertion. What the president doesn't understand is that terrorist groups form and re-form, moving and taking new names as often as they see an advantage in doing so.
Obama's decision to close Gitmo remains a reckless one, as are the decisions that flow from it.  There’s proof enough of why no Gitmo inmates should be released to Yemen or any other nation in which terrorists find sanctuary and support.  But Obama’s arguments for moving the KSM trial to New York are risible, as are and those of his team, Attorney General Holder, hapless Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the rest.

There is no legal reason to do so, and every reason not to.  In July 1942, in , the US Supreme Court decided that eight German saboteurs captured by the FBI in New York and Chicago after having been landed on the US coast by submarine, were properly tried before military commissions.  (Six of the eight were executed shortly afterward.) As Attorney General Holder reluctantly admitted in Senate testimony last year, we have never before tried terrorists captured abroad -- such as KSM -- in civilian courts.

First, there is the very real danger to New Yorkers in bringing KSM and his pals there. Yes, New Yorkers take pride in their grit. But that won’t protect them from a terrorist attack meant to free the prisoners.

Second, there is jury intimidation.  What juror will vote to convict KSM if he believes his family will be murdered?  There have been four trials of “recovered” mobster John Gotti, Jr. in the Southern District of New York in the last five years.  All have resulted in mistrials because of hung juries. (After the latest, his mother shouted, “We’re going to Disney World.”)

And then what?  Holder said that even if KSM were acquitted, he’d still be kept in custody.  How?  What judge would refuse a habeas corpus writ after an acquittal?

None of this is necessary.  None of this would happen in a military commission.  Which is why HUMAN EVENTS asks you to sign this petition to General Holder. Stop these trials. KSM and the others -- including Abdulmutallab -- should be in Gitmo and there subjected to the constitutional -- and legal – remedy of trial in a military commission.

11 comments:

  1. Supreme Court said that Terrorist Captured on Forgein Soil ARE MILITARY Combantants and are SUBJECT to MILITARY Trials.

    Americans on American Soil Committing TERRORIST acts are Intitled to Criminal Trials!Terrorist Attacks on Military Installation are Military Trials plain and SIMPLE!

    It Seemed so Simple till Holder came down with a POLITICAL descision that if ALLOWED,will put TERRORIST on TRIAL in Criminal Court in of all places New York City! Holder also said that IF these MURDERS are found NOT GUILTY they will NOT be Released. Question,other than POLITICS why have the Trials. This Crap of WE are Above Terrorist and will show the World is Nonsense., It will SHOW Terrorist how weak this Administration is. Has any of the BOWING or Apoligizing to the WORLD made ANY Difference with the Terrorist. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO OR SAY TERRORIST WILL ALWAYS WANT TO KILL US! Nice AINT going to work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Chris,

    Thanks for the note. I will refrain from commenting at this time, gotta get the books closed but I will keep abreast of what you got going in this here room.

    Oddly yours,

    jadedfellow

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chris, did you blog about this when the British citizen, shoe bomber Richard Reid was tried and convicted in our criminal system? Surely Obama is wrong for doing the same thing with the newest plane bomber as the Bush justice dept did with the last?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joey must be hurting for readers on his ANGRY blog. He's back looking for attention again. Joey, are you getting lonely over there?

    I don't know why you libertards have to make your blogs so darn angry, you really lose a lot of readers. And I'm not sure where all of your anger comes from. You live in the greatest country in the world and you have a great job that you will never lose because the union fights for losers like you, no matter if you are drunk on the job or even if you commit a crime on the job.

    I'm pretty sure Chris didn't have a blog when Reid tried to blow up the plane by the way. Idiot.

    ReplyDelete
  5. John, i'm not here for readers. Sorry to burst your bubble but i'm not the attention whore on this blog. That would be the blogger. (mentioned his blog to candice Miller in email)

    But lets return to the important issue. Should the Xmas bomber be treated the same or differently than the shoe bomber? both are foreign citizens, both wanted to blow up a plane over the US. One currently resides in Supermax courtesy of the Bush Justice dept (something they did right).

    Now off on your tangent. Looks like you haven't read my blog. there's nothing angry in it except the name. Have you read the post for you? It seems as if your projecting again, becuase the angry blogs seems to be on the part of the right.

    I wish you'd stop with your jealousy of me though. You'll find a job and move out of your mothers trailer one day. Just because i have a good job doesn't mean its okay to fantasize about me and project all those perverse thoughts unto me. I'm not like ma's boyfriend and i don't attend her AA meeting or have a PO like he does. Stop it already.

    ReplyDelete
  6. BWAAAAAHAHAHA ... somebody got their panties in a bunch! Poor little Joey, going off on his angry hate-filled rants again. I can tell you don't attend any more AA meetings Joey, you fell off the wagon and crawled into a bottle a few days ago. I hope your wife and kids realize that there are shelters where they can hide from your rage and hate. Try to not beat them Joey, the problem is you not them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, and short guy, I did read your little blog for a little while, I even gave you a couple of tips to make it better, and even made a couple of comments that received no response from you. Are you REALLY so narcissistic that you think anybody wants to go to your ANGRY blog to read anything about you?!?!

    If the title of the blog is "Angry Unionist", well then WHAT are you angry about idiot?! See, the name of my blog is "Adventures in Liberal Hypocrisy", and it is exactly what it says. Sooooooo ... seems to me you are an idiot.

    Oh and gosh, I guess I'm an attention whore because I mentioned my blog. And I mentioned yours ... look at me, whoring it up. BWAAAAHAHAHAHA

    ReplyDelete
  8. Joe did that really cause that much harm to your stability that I let Congresswoman Miller know that I put her on the blog? And that I'm giving her cudos for what she is doing for us conservative back in Washington DC so she will keep up the good fight? It sounds smart to me. But we both know thats why you're so pissed? Sucks to be you Joe the Angry overpayed lazy Unionist. Joe get some ballance in your life.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joe I've seen Johns wife and she is hot. And when it comes to money I know he make much more then a UAW member even with your bennies. Sorry to burst your buble but once again you are wrong. Don't you get sick of being wrong all the time Joe?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Joe C Nobama Wrong Bush Wrong but that wont make you Right! I beleive ALL Terrorist SHOULD be Tried in Military Court as Act of War as Even Holder said at his Confirmation Hearings. BUT Aint going to Happen. If you think the Circus that will Occurr in New York is the right way to GO Foreign Terrorist(Murders) tried in Civilian Court ,Terrorist in there CAVES are Laughing at US JoeC. You may be used to being LAUGHED at but I for one am NOT! Nobama will Rue the Day he let HIS Attorney General go through with this Circus and it will HELP in making him a ONE TERMER! Mayor of New York says Trial which may Last YEARS is going to COST 200 Million Dollars JoeC. That will mean 200 Million less to Spend on Entitlements!

    ReplyDelete
  11. John, narcistic? lol..not me. Your the one who challenged me to blog, idiot. Seems to me your the idiot, now.

    Chris, some how you missed the point, again. I'm starving for attention according to your little buddy john, all the while your out mentioning your blog to congresswomen. Just pointing out the typical hypocrisy of John again. Your out trying to get some attenion and yet i'm the one trying to get readers.

    Al, You should be used to it.

    ReplyDelete

Please keep it clean and nice. Thank you for taking the time to post you thought. It means a lot to me that you do this.