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November 16, 2009
The KSM/Terrorist Trial in NYC: Part of Obama's War on The Bush Administration?
Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (h/t American Power):
If we discover later that it's really just a facade to delve into a fishing expedition, I would find that just unacceptable, outrageous and a further distortion of the system...if it's subterfuge for the fishing expedition, that's just wrong and unconscionable.
I don't think the primary objective of President Obama and AG Holder is to put the Bush Administration on trial, but I do think that they're hoping it happens. I think that they will be pleased if or when revelation of alleged "torture," "mistreatment," call-it-what-you-like come out. I don't think they'd even mind too much if national security secrets were revealed such as Patriot Act-wiretaps.
Further, Ridge is wise to worry that the whole thing could turn into a fishing expedition. As I wrote about KSM and his cohorts on Saturday, "They're obviously guilty, and when you're obviously guilty you do one of or both of two things; tie up the court in legalisms, and/or put the government on trial. They will put the Bush Administration on trial for renditions, waterboarding, the whole thing."
The question is whether the Obama Administration balks when the defense demands all sorts of information, or whether they just hand it right over. Given their behavior thus far, I think the latter is the stronger possibility.
Anthony Dick, writing at NRO's The Corner, makes other points along this line:
The strange thing about the Obama administration's decision to hold these civilian al-Qaeda trials is that the project is flawed even based on the premises of its staunchest defenders: They talk about due process and the rule of law, but the trials can't possibly provide anything close to the level of objectivity that applies in an ordinary criminal-law setting. There is no way the defendants will get an impartial jury in New York, and there is no way the government will actually release the terrorists if they are acquitted. Thus the courtroom proceedings in Manhattan will be, in a very real sense, show trials. They are designed purely for PR purposes, so that the Obama administration can pay lip service to the ideal of due process while implicitly rebuking the Bush administration for failing to respect the rule of law.Meanwhile, it is the Obama administration that is truly making a sham out of the rule of law, by politicizing the trial process and pretending that these enemy combatants will be getting normal, neutral, dispassionate trials, as if the larger strategic context of the War on Terror will not affect the judge, the jury, or the actions of the government, which is sure to retain custody of the defendants in the off chance they are acquitted.
This reflects the fundamental unseriousness of the Obama administration in the face of terrorism. We saw the same thing with the foolish announcement that Gitmo would be closed by January, which was the first iteration of the administration's fantasy-land effort to sidestep one of the core dilemmas of the post-9/11 world: We have a significant number of detainees whom we know with operational certainty to be dangerous terrorists, but, for various reasons, we can't prosecute or convict them according to normal procedures. This is another way of saying that there is no way we can prosecute the War on Terror while providing the full panoply of ordinary due-process protections to enemy combatants. And no amount of hope can change this reality.
"Show trials" indeed is what they'll become, and from all sides. From the Obama Administration, the show will be: To to show the world we respect the rule of law, are a wonderful country, George W. Bush and the neocons were evil, and now that Obama is in charge everybody should love us now.
From the vantage of KSM and his fellow jihadists: To show the world that they are brutally serious about destroying Western civilization and replacing it with a modern-day caliphate governed by Sharia law. They aim to bolster the standing of like-minded Muslims and demoralize moderates and reformers.
The third perspective is that of the left, who will rejoice in every revelation of classified information and anything we did to KSM and his fellows along the lines of enhanced interrogation.
The left, both international and here at home, will jump all over anything that they think makes the U.S. look bad. Any rough treatment, severe questioning, waterboarding, sleep deprivation, bright lights or loud music all will be trumpeted to the heavens in an attempt to show that the U.S. in general and the Bush Administration in particular, is evil.
In their stupendous naivete they'll think that the world will love us because we have the "courage" to face up to our own (alleged) misdeeds, and give these "criminals" a "fair trial."
Every day brings forth a new insult to our nation from the Obama Administration. Just when I think it can't get any worse, it does.
Posted by Tom at November 16, 2009 6:45 AM
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Comments
Any trial involving the famous or infamous is a "show" Tom.
It's important that we demonstrate to the world that our justice system is the best and we trust it.
How could we as a Nation in good conscience abandon our legal system without looking like those we condemn?
This is the correct move by the Justice Department.
Posted by: Truth 101 at November 17, 2009 3:42 PM
Actually, it is Obama and Holder who are abandoning our Constitution and legal tradtions.
One, we have the Military Commissions Act of 2006, passed by Congress (in the Senate 53 Republicans voted yes, 1 no, 12 Democrats yes, 32 no, in the House 217 Republicans yes, 7 no, 32 Democrats yes, 162 no). It was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007 with only one passage being struck down.
In a stunning act of inconsistency, Obama/Holder plan on trying other terrorists in these commissions.
Further, there is a long tradition of not trying saboteurs in civilian courts. In Operation Pastorius. Long story short, the Germans landed 8 saboteurs in civilian clothing via U-Boat in New York and Florida. They were captured and within 60 days tried by military commission and executed.
As for "the world," sigh. There is no "the world," but different groups of peoples, each with different perspectives.
Perhaps some in Europe will think better of us, true. But many others there will secretly wish that we had just shot the terrorists, because there is and has been an implicit agreement that we will do there dirty work for them.
Dictators in the third world will see the trial as a sign of weakness, and will see it as an opportunity to move in on our interests, dictators will see it as an opportunity to take away civil liberties, etc.
The international left will use the information exposed in the trial to set up war crimes trials for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc.
The radical Muslims will use the information exposed at the trial as propaganda to show what an evil nation we are. This will "prove" their point. Most Musims want Sharia law, and so they view our court system as inherently unjust anyway.
The Chinese will also see Obama as weak, and will move to take democratic Taiwan, possibly by force. China is still ruled by communist dictators, you know. Think they care about our concept of a free trial? More, most Chinese acquiesce to their dictatorial government as the price for "stability" and economic progress. They view our concept of a fair trail as silly.
And national leaders in precarious nations like Afghanistan, Iraq, the UAE, Qatar, Columbia, etc, will also see it as weakness and will make their accommodations with their enemies, knowing that when the chips are down Obama will do nothing to help them.
Whatever else, you need to understand that it's more complicated out there than talking about "the world." Many or most people around the world have dramatically different ideas on what constitutes truth, freedom, and justice.
Posted by: Tom the Redhunter at November 17, 2009 10:11 PM
Nobody has to remind me of the wickedness and cruelty that exist in the world Tom. And I don't want my Nation to adopt brutal or unjust policies so we "can fit in" or "send the right message."
The right message is we live by the rule of law.
Fearmongering that KSM and the other thugs might get off because of technicalities or legal wrangling is just that.
Posted by: Truth 101 at November 17, 2009 10:41 PM
Tom, as you point out the Obama Administration IS using military tribunals for a host of other terrorists. So why not use it for these four? It's all political. Obama can distract his lefty scum base who are boo hooing about his failure to undo ALL of Bush's terror policies with this ridiculous trial.
Obama is clearly using national security policy for political purposes. And he is being abetted in this by the most politicized Attorney General our country has had since John Mitchell in Nixon's Administration.
Posted by: Mike's America at November 18, 2009 12:00 AM
So trying criminals in a court of law is playing politics Mike?
The disingenuousness of your post deserves far more bashing than Tom allows at his site. Consider yourself lucky.
I do think you know that so that's why you post your nonsense here.
Posted by: Truth 101 at November 18, 2009 9:49 PM
I value all comments. Most anyway. In almost five years of blogging I've only had to ban two commenters, and no one here comes anywhere close to the threshold.
Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his fellows are not "criminals" as properly understood, but are illegal or unlawful combatants.
This differing understanding of the status of KSM and other terrorists goes to the heart of the dispute between right and left on this entire matter.
Posted by: Tom the Redhunter at November 19, 2009 7:20 AM
