The congressman is a smart guy and knows better.NYC, of course, has already been hit and remains a fat bull's-eye for terrorists bent on attacking the U.S. One suspects the real reason for King and others to push for secretive military tribunals for the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and five other detainees of Guantanamo is to prevent their testimony about torture and brutal treatment that was authorized by George Bush, Dick Cheney, John Yoo and other members of the previous administration.
Open court will undoubtedly give the terrorist a platform. So what? The country can handle it. Their talk of torture can assure that such mistreatment never happen again.
The Justice Dept. reports that is has convicted more than 200 people in federal court for ties to terror. That includes the Blind Sheikh who was successfully prosecuted for the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. Let the trials begin so the Justice Dept. can add another six to its list.
Obama could have easily opted for military trials. That would have shielded him from conservative blasts that he is somehow soft on terrorists by trying them in federal court for the Southern District of New York, blocks away from the World Trade Center site.
The president already has a full plate with job creation, healthcare reform, energy/climate change legislation and Afghanistan/Iraq. The administration stands tall for choosing to bring the 9/11 perpetrators to justice in open court. It put principle over political expediency.
Attorney General Eric Holder set the right tone when he said today:
For over two hundred years, our nation has relied on a faithful adherence to the rule of law to bring criminals to justice and provide accountability to victims. Once again we will ask our legal system to rise to that challenge, and I am confident it will answer the call with fairness and justice.”
That justice doesn't happen in places like Saudi Arabia that spawn terrorists. Obama and Holder upheld America's commitment to rule of law. Their action should make all Americans proud.
There is another reason why military tribunals are not the way to go. A military trial would have elevated the status of the terrorists to that of enemies of the U.S. Al Qaeda is not an enemy of the U.S. It is a collection of cowardly, fanatical and murderous thugs that will soon have some of its members receiving the death penalty by U.S. court of law.
How appropriate is that?
(Image via Wikimedia)