On The Road To Defeat: Civilian Trials For Terrorists

By Semperpapa

Remember the public uproar when US Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9-11 attacks, was going to be tried in New York civilian courts?
And do you remember the reason for the uproar?

Well we just saw one of the reasons why civilian courts should not be the ones to handle war criminal cases, but that the adjudication of terrorist prisoners should be left to Military tribunals.

In a move that struck a huge blow to the prosecution’s case, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan banned a key witness in the trial of Guantanamo prisoner Ahmed Ghailani.
Ghailani is the man responsible for the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, causing the death of 224 people, including a dozen U.S. citizens.

The reason Kaplan gave for his decision, which took place during the juror selection process, was that the identity of the witness, one Hussein Abebe, had been obtained by CIA operatives from Ghailani via coercive interrogations.
Hussein Abebe is the man who sold the explosives to Ghailani. Abebe’s existence became known after Ghailani was interrogated in a secret CIA prison in 2004.

Judge Kaplan stated that he was “acutely aware” of the danger that terrorism poses to the lives of innocents across the globe, but he still maintains that the methodology used to obtain the information about Abebe was illegal and therefore under the U.S. Constitution, he had no choice but to ban the witness.

The fallout from Kaplan’s decision is uncertain at this point, at least from the point of view of the chances of the prosecution to seek justice against the murderous terrorist Ghailani.
AG Eric Holder stated that he is still confident that the prosecution will prevail, as he again boasted the alleged record of success of the Dept. of Justice in prosecuting terrorists in civilian courts.
Personally, my confidence in Eric Holder ability and most of all willingness to seek real justice at any level is practically non existent, and considering that Ghailani is a black man from Africa, it just got even lower.

Ghailani’s attorney, Peter Quijano, was jubilant, stating that he believes the U.S. Constitution won thanks to the judge’s decision.
An observer from the organization Human Rights First, Daphne Eviatar, was also very satisfied with the ruling, stating that Kaplan’s decision shows that terrorist cases should be tried in civilian court.
And Ghailani was reported to be smiling in court as the judge stated his decision.

Then there is the rest of straight thinking Americans, who believe that what just happened in New York is just one more step on the road to the defeat of our country, just one more nail in the coffin of our security.

The main issue in this whole mess should be the search for justice for those who were victimized by a cowardly act. Ghailani is not a US citizen, but he is an enemy combatant and as such, in the middle of a war our country is in against radical Islam, should be handled by Military justice and disposed of, so to safeguard our society, and countless innocents across the globe, from any further potential harm he can cause.

It is interesting that the decision coincides with the sentencing of Faisal Shahzad, the failed Times Square bomber who tried to explode an SUV in New York.
Shahzad, a United States citizen, was sentenced to life in prison, but was defiant against the court by stating that the US should brace itself as the Muslim war has just begun and the defeat of America is imminent, a feeling that is also shared by the top dog of the Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Badi.

And, honestly, how can anyone argue with such statements, when we have people like Judge Kaplan, Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano and Obama running the show.

Just my thoughts!