Posted by Tina
Terrence P. Jeffrey makes the best case yet against the decision to bring KSM to New York for a civilian court trial. I will share the inconsistency with you but do read the entire article:
It is inconsistent with Holder’s own decision to try Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in a military commission. It is indefensible in light of the unmistakable intentions of the Framers of the Constitution. It is inexplicable by any prudential analysis of the national interest in dealing with an enemy like al-Qaida. ** Some strange ideological impulse–rather than common sense and respect for the rule of law–is driving the Obama administration to give special treatment to the perpetrator of one of the greatest war crimes ever committed against the United States. ** Consider the unequal treatment of Nashiri and Mohammed. ** Nashiri is the al-Qaida mastermind of the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 U.S. sailors. Mohammed is the al-Qaida mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack that killed 2,973 people in New York City, Shanksville, Pa., and Northern Virginia, including 55 U.S. military personnel and 70 civilians serving in the Pentagon. ** Both Nashiri and Mohammed were waterboarded during interrogations by the Central Intelligence Agency. ** In deciding to try Nashiri in a military commission, the Obama administration is conceding that military commissions are constitutional, legal and fully capable of providing al-Qaida terrorists with fair trials consistent with longstanding American traditions of justice. ** It would have been impossible for the Obama administration to maintain otherwise. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 10 of the Constitution says: “The Congress shall have Power … To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations.”
Not only is the Obama administration playing games with respect to the Constitution but those on the left who claim to be Constitutional scholars and are supporting him are playing games as well. Trying this case in New York is policy driven by politics rather than legal concerns. The disregard being shown for the safety of the American people, our Constitution and the rule of law is stunning.
PS. “A tough-talking President Obama went on the offensive today, saying that accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be convicted and executed.” – New York Post (emphasis mine)