By Patrick J. Buchanan
Are we at war — or not?
For if we are at war, why is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed headed for trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York? Why is he entitled to a presumption of innocence and all of the constitutional protections of a U.S. citizen?
Is it possible we have done an injustice to this man by keeping him locked up all these years without trial? For that is what this trial implies — that he may not be guilty.
And if we must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that KSM was complicit in mass murder, by what right do we send Predators and Special Forces to kill his al-Qaida comrades wherever we find them? For none of them has been granted a fair trial.
When the Justice Department sets up a task force to wage war on a crime organization like the Mafia or MS-13, no U.S. official has a right to shoot Mafia or gang members on sight. No one has a right to bomb their homes. No one has a right to regard the possible death of their wives and children in an attack as acceptable collateral damage.
Yet that is what we do to al-Qaida, to which KSM belongs.
We conduct those strikes in good conscience because we believe we are at war. But if we are at war, what is KSM doing in a U.S. court?
Minoru Genda, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, a naval base on U.S. soil, when America was at peace, and killed as many Americans as the Sept. 11 hijackers, was not brought here for trial. He was an enemy combatant under the Geneva Conventions and treated as such.
When Maj. Andre, the British spy and collaborator of Benedict Arnold, was captured, he got a military tribunal, after which he was hanged. When Gen. Andrew Jackson captured two British subjects in Spanish Florida aiding renegade Indians, Jackson had both tried and hanged on the spot.
Enemy soldiers who commit atrocities are not sent to the United States for trial. Under the Geneva Conventions, soldiers who commit atrocities are shot when caught.
When and where did Khalid Sheikh Mohammed acquire his right to a trial by a jury of his peers in a U.S. court?
When John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln, alleged collaborators like Mary Surratt were tried before a military tribunal and hanged at Ft. McNair. When eight German saboteurs were caught in 1942 after being put ashore by U-boat, they were tried in secret before a military commission and executed, with the approval of the Supreme Court. What makes KSM special?
Is the Obama administration aware of what it is risking by not turning KSM over to a military tribunal in Guantanamo?
How does Justice handle a defense demand for a change of venue, far from lower Manhattan, where the jury pool was most deeply traumatized by Sept. 11? Would not KSM and his co-defendants, if a change of venue is denied, have a powerful argument for overturning any conviction on appeal?
Were not KSM’s Miranda rights impinged when he was not only not told he could have a lawyer on capture, but that his family would be killed and he would be water-boarded if he refused to talk?
And if all the evidence against the five defendants comes from other than their own testimony under duress, do not their lawyers have a right to know when, where, how and from whom Justice got the evidence to prosecute them? Does KSM have the right to confront all witnesses against him, even if they are al-Qaida turncoats or U.S. spies still transmitting information to U.S. intelligence?
There have been reports that in the trials of those convicted in the first World Trade Center bombing, sources and methods were compromised, weakening our security for the second attack on Sept. 11.
If the trial is held in lower Manhattan, how much security will be needed to protect against a car bomber who wants the world to see a mighty blow struck against the Great Satan? And if, as some suggest, the trial should be held on Governor’s Island, would that not make the United States look like a nation under siege?
What do we do if the case against KSM is thrown out because the government refuses to reveal sources or methods, or if he gets a hung jury, or is acquitted, or has his conviction overturned?
In America, trials often become games, where the prosecution, though it has truth on its side, loses because it inadvertently breaks one of the rules.
The Obamaites had best pray that does not happen, for they may be betting his presidency on the outcome of the game about to begin.
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Obama campaigned against Guantanamo, so he has to close it. Therefore, he has to try the prisoners in court. Most likely, many of them will be acquitted. I suppose some of those will be driving taxis in New York soon.
Yes, we are at war. Unfortunately for us, Al-Qaida has no boundaries, so the law concerning their fighters is gray.
If we’re smart, we’ll tell our soldiers to just kill their fighters from now on. What good is it to take prisoners? We can’t torture them for information anymore, so what use are they to us? It’s not as if we’re likely to persuade them to talk by offering them favors. Besides, those pictures of their accomodations at Guantanamo, and the descriptions of the ridiculously expensive services that we provided to them there, were too disgusting to bear. If I was the President, I’d tell McCrystal to let his soldiers just waste that garbage and not ever look back.
You answered your own question Pat. He gained the right to a trial when we took him as a prisoner rather than shooting him on the battlefield; or rather, he gains this right when he reaches U.S. soil. We were keeping him on foreign soil to avoid having to comply with our own laws, which is just wrong.
As for the risk to New York, they didn’t seem to think that starting two wars in the middle east and giving unconditional support to Israel made us less safe, but now they cower at the thought of Muslim opinion as we stop torturing the prisoners and give them a fair trial? Please, they are just trying to score political points on the opposition.
Good post!
Pat according to what i saw today we must not be at War. The president of the USA bowed to the Emperor of Japan. This made me sick. Since he is on a misson to apologize to the World for America being America we must not be at war and should take our troops out of harms way. If we don’t our Liberal congressmen might want to prosecute them for war crimes. We need the Spirit of Ronald Regan to posses one of our GOP hopefuls. Maybe you or Sarah Palin.
After reading the post above again i must admit that we are at war but it is not with who you think it is. Al-Qaida is not the wosrt enemy we have right now. it is our Liberal government. they will do far greater damage to the USA than Al-Qaida could ever hope to inflict.
We Are All Crusaders Now
“…Who’s to doom, when the judge himself is dragged to the bar?”
Herman Melville
America is at war with the international bankers, the third world invaders, and our own illegitimate communist government.
Obama cannot “decide” or judge anything, because he is NOT the legitimate president of the United States of America. Therefore, the American people are witness to an usurper in the White House, a Mexican occupation army in full-blown annexation of American territory, and this whole ridiculous idea of trial by jury for the mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing.
KSM, an others of his ilk, should be offered nothing but pork to eat, and then taken out to be guillotined in the public square.
Before KSM has his head removed–in true Muslim tradition–he should be flogged with a cat-o-nine tails, with fishhooks and lead weights on the end. He should be beaten on his naked, hairy butt, so that he is completely humiliated.
Pesonally, this writer favors crucifixion for KSM, but a vicious flogging and removal of his head will do quite nicely for politically correct America.
After his head is removed, it should be stripped of all flesh and fat, and bleached. Then the skull should be sent over to the Pentagon for our cigar-chomping generals to use as an ashtray.
Tickets should be sold for the event, and the entire thing should be televised for the inmates at Gitmo to see, as they are next.
America will never forget that couple who held hands and jumped a thousand feet to their deaths, rather than be incinerated alive by aviation fuel at the World Trade Center.
Mecca is past due for vaporization.
Wow really…a mexican army? The same army that cant fight its drug wars?A full-blown annexation of American territory? Not legitimate president? What da…..? Are you okay? Its a good thing you still have your Y2k supplies, so you can hide in your trailer when the Mexican armies take over and the rest of the country becomes communists.
Maybe Oprah can preside as judge.
We are not at war. We are in perpetual military conflict, which is the strategy being used by foreign powers and their domestic cronies to sap the country economically, and to demonize us throughout the world. We are doing precisely what the founding fathers warned us against doing, which is precisely why we are propagandized into doing it. A world constantly in military conflict is essential if these foreign powers are to perpetuate their control over the world, gain control of all the money the world uses and of their power centers. By instigating and financing these conflicts, they maintain an atmosphere of fear, divide and conquer, destroy individual liberty, self-determination and sovereignty, and collectivize governments.
The only reason I can see for Holder to have Khalid Sheikh Mohammed tried in the US is to put Bush on trial. Face it, the WH has already determined that Bush/Cheney tortured and KSM has been tortured. Even if KSM is found guilty, Bush will have been brought before the court of public opinion. When Holder goes after the Bush era torturers, US citizens will already be prepared.
And if the Obama WH goes after the previous administration, you can bet that when the Reps gain control of our government again, and they will, that they will go after the Obama administration. This sets a bad precedence.
As far as whether we are at war, I’m not smart enough to figure that one out. Obama said that Afghanistan was the good war that we had to win. Now with his liberal constituency bearing down, he’s not so sure. If we are not at war, we need to get out now. We don’t need to have another Vietnam war that we don’t win and we don’t lose.
Pat is absolutely right about the trial problems. So many technicalities that could get the case thrown out. Its not a good idea. If we were at war, they should have been given prisoner of war status and dealt with at that time. Mistakes of the previous administration. Right now, a military tribunal would be the best thing, and then execution. KSM wants to be executed anyway – and we want to execute him too; sounds like we got a deal! Where do we sign up.
Brother Buchanan who, sad to say, has also endorsed torture (”McLaughlin Group,” 9-12-09), doesn’t seem to know, as a Christian — which he should know — that people have rights (to life, to liberty) not because they at war or not at war but because they are human beings made in God’s image. And Constitutional rights apply to persons. It’s not just Americans who have rights from God and our Constitution. He should also know that argument-by-rhetorical-questions is not very persuasive.
But, yes, many of those accused of terrorist crimes might indeed go free, might be found not guilty. And this might happen because they were tortured, punished cruelly and unusually, in violation of the 8th Amendment. If this happens, one wonders if Brother Buchanan will still be in favor of torture.
John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com
Recovering Republican
JLof@aol.com
This may now be a permanent war. People like Buchanan and Ron Paul argue that the Muslims commit terror against us because we invaded or interfered in their lands. This may have been the case, but will things improve if we pull out of the Middle East? Will Muslims be satisfied that we left or feel that they have the momentum because American empire is on the retreat? Muslims may then go after US presence in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, and they may wage this war until the GREAT SATAN is defeated.
Consider Pearl Harbor attack. Would we have been satisfied if Japan declared it would no longer attack the US? No, even if Japan had vowed never to attack US territories or enter US waters again, Americans were resolved to chasing the Japanese everywhere and anywhere and totally defeating the Japanese Empire. We went after them all over Asia and didn’t stop until Japan surrendered unconditionally. It could be that some Muslims have developed this kind of mindset. They might not be content with US merely pulling out of the Middle East. They may be committed to the destruction of the entire ‘American Empire’ all over the world. In that case, it’s gonna be a long drawn war that can only be won or lost.
Fighting and dying is the radicals’ pastime- they just really enjoy it. When our soldiers over there wake up for their shifts, what they need to do is to think to themselves, “Man, I hope I get to kill one of those things today!” Because that’s what the radicals are thinking, and if our soldiers aren’t thinking the same thing, they’re at a disadvantage. Our guys have to enjoy killing the enemy, they have to enjoy the idea that back in Crapistan, baby sister will be crying over the fact that big brother won’t be coming home. Am I making myself clear? When you have to fight to survive, you have to learn to get a real thrill out of it. That’s the difference between winning a war and losing a war. Sure, it changes you, perhaps for the worse. But what’s really worse- winning and living, or losing and dying?
Its not so much that the radicals enjoy it…its that they believe that they are doing it for a greater cause and that God will reward them. They are fighting with their faith on their mind and side. Our soldiers fight because its a paycheck, or for the benefits, or some enjoy killing. You would have to kill everyone of them to win the fight. One of their mottos is that they “want to die more than you want to live”. If you kill them, your doing them a favor, if you dont, they kill you. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Seattle, that’s not entirely true. If the radicals start dying like termites under an exterminator’s tent, that Allah crap will take a backseat to common sense. If killing them is doing them a favor, I’m willing to bend my philosophy and help ‘em out this one time. And no, our military people aren’t just fighting for a paycheck. Talk to a few and you’ll see that the vast majority of them are dedicated to maintaining the security of our nation. That’s their primary motivation.
The answer to the question is a simple, “No”, though a faction of the govt would like people to believe “Yes”.
And the trial exists anyway because the vast majority of the US does not believe we are in a war. Lots of people have doubts about the official story of 911 events and the trial is intended to justify the tale.
Those of you talking about Pearl Harbour: do you really believe 911 was masterminded by some backwards, anti-technology Muslims directing operations from caves in Afghanistan? Why isn’t Osama indicted? The FBI itself says “the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11″. Look at the history of the poor schmucks they caught; they are loony, erratic, undisciplined, a couple used to live on US military bases, Saudis with terrorist backgrounds given visas against the objection of the Foreign Service consular officer …. sure, these are bad folks, but why were they protected every step of the way? Classical patsies!
Can’t you take the basic information we have and, at the very least, see that Muslims as a grand group are not a threat to the existence of the USA? The threat to the US comes from within. Know your enemy.
Mr. Buchanan references Minoru Genda as an example of an Enemy Combatant but I belive his story would argue for treating KSM in Civilan Criminal Court.
Minoru Genda is an apt analogy:
Genda was the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor surprise attack, he came up with the idea, developed a detailed plan and saw through the execution.
KSM is the mastermind behind the 911 attack.
If we treat War against Al Qaida (Agree with Buchanan “War against terrorism” is a stupid term) in the same manner as the Pacific War against Japan, than the 911 attack would be treated in the same context as the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Howver, Pearl Harbor was a brilliantly executed military strike and Genda Minoru was not treated as a war criminal by any of the military tribunals held after the unconditinal surrender of Japan but he lived a long life as a General of the Air Self- Defense Forces and a prominent right-wing politician in upper house of Japan.
Genda did not have to take the blame for the “sneak-attack” that rap was taken by the higher ups like Tojo etal.
According to his obiturary in NYT, in 1969 he was allowed to address the midshipmen at US Naval Academy and received a Legion of Merit medal which is a higest United States honor given to foregners.
If we have to treat the 911 attack as an act of war, than we would be treating it as a brilliant example of art asymmetric warfare and thus honor it’s mastermind, KSM in the same manner as we have treated Minoru Genda.
KSM would be making a pretty good living here as an authority on asymmetric warware in some beltway consulting firm, not bad for an engineering grad from unranked university in North Carolina.
Personally, I think 911 is a mass murder, nothing else which is what it would be if we don’t have to treat it as a act of war.
But it was British banking that put Mohammad up to taking the fall. Mass murderers, indeed.
“Unless you become more watchful in your states and check the spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges you will in the end find that… the control over your dearest interests has passed into the hands of these corporations.” –Andrew Jackson