The same party that is pushing for military tribunals to try and convict Khalid Sheik Mohamed rather than try him in Federal Courts in NYC are the same party that are now not confident to allow the military justice system enough time to investigate, try and convict Maj Hasan, the shooter that went on a rampage at Ft. Hood Texas.
The same party that breathlessly speaks of endless wars and the courage of our country is now trying to stoke fear in the minds of Americans when talk of housing Guantanamo detainees in a Supermax facility in Illinois comes up.
Enough!
It's time for Democratic leaders to stand up to this petty fear mongering and let the American population know we won't cower to the fear terrorists hope to bestow upon us.
It appears President Obama and AG Eric Holder have done just that in an article by the Associated Press this morning.
In the article, Obama stated "I think this notion that we have to be fearful that these terrorists possess some special powers that prevent us from presenting evidence against them, locking them up and exacting swift justice, I think that has been a fundamental mistake." In the same article President Obama declared 'those offended by the legal privileges being given to Mohammed by trying him in a civilian court ultimately won’t find it "offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him."
Eric Holder echoed this sentiment when he said “We need not cower in the face of this enemy...Our institutions are strong, our infrastructure is sturdy, our resolve is firm, and our people are ready.”
That's what I'm talking about.
Cleaning out this legal mess left by the previous administration is going to be a cumbersome process since many of the detainees were treated in ways that violated both the Geneva Convention and The United Nations Convention Against Torture signed and championed by Ronald Reagan. I don't think many realize the legal minefield Cheney set. It could take decades to unwind this mess.
Trying and convicting these criminals is all part of it and every American should find the courage in them to stand behind the laws and courts of this country and have faith in our justice system to either put these cowards behind bars indefinitely or execute them.
Obama's not unwinding the mess. Further, anyone looking at it should be aware of the American Serviceman's Protection Act of 2002. It squelched Belgium and Spain from performing what they saw as their duty to prosecute War Crimes under international treaties to which the United States is signatory.
ReplyDeleteIf you can get by the vitriol about 911, I think a pretty good resource for related links could be found at The Existentialist Cowboy by Len Hart. Whatever else you may think of his opinions, he links to sources like crazy.
Islamophobia is a disinformation scam - I might well say part of the general disinformation scam - generated by the Brits out of Eugenics. It tends to reproduce the Crusader mindset which led to religious wars of the Dark Ages. First news reports were of 3 shooters in a place where people going bugfuck is all too common.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religionandtheology/1218/osama_and_orientalism%3A_where_islamophobes_meet_al-qaeda?page=entire
http://bodyontheline.wordpress.com/2007/10/19/understanding-why-islamophobia-is-on-the-rise/
My July Archives at Opit's LinkFest! on Blogger have a collection of related articles headed 'Perception Alteration'.