The Trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed
“First we’re gonna give him a fair trial, then we’re gonna hang him”.
I love Westerns. I believe an episode of “Maverick” had that trial/hang theme, and in a Western that “First we’re gonna give him a fair trial, then we’re gonna hang him” from the mob would usually precede an ultimate determination that the intended “strange fruit”1 was innocent, and that the lynching would have been in error.
Now that the White House has joined the mob, what are we to make of the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed?
What is the purpose of the proposed trial? Usually we have a criminal trial to determine if a defendant is guilty or innocent. If the accused is innocent then he should be released from custody. Does anyone other than the Muslim and leftist conspiracy factions believe that Mohammed did not plan and carry out the 9/11 attacks? Is the President prepared to admit the possibility of a “not guilty” verdict and watch Khalid Sheik Mohammed walk out of the Federal District Court in New York? I would think not. How about a hung jury? Some combination of his "peers" could easily come up with a hung jury.
It is hard to see what good will come out of this show. I do not believe that an enemy combatant captured outside the U.S. has any Constitutional rights, and an enemy combatant in the U.S. not in uniform is a spy. Military tribunals were the proper forum for disposition of these combatants. I fear that the Democrats who were so eager to make political capital at Guantanamo by treating the prisoners as citizens have bought a problem that has no limits.
Certainly the message to the military is clear – do not take prisoners lest Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi use them against you.
1. "Strange Fruit Hanging from the Poplar Tree" - Billie Holliday
I love Westerns. I believe an episode of “Maverick” had that trial/hang theme, and in a Western that “First we’re gonna give him a fair trial, then we’re gonna hang him” from the mob would usually precede an ultimate determination that the intended “strange fruit”1 was innocent, and that the lynching would have been in error.
Now that the White House has joined the mob, what are we to make of the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed?
What is the purpose of the proposed trial? Usually we have a criminal trial to determine if a defendant is guilty or innocent. If the accused is innocent then he should be released from custody. Does anyone other than the Muslim and leftist conspiracy factions believe that Mohammed did not plan and carry out the 9/11 attacks? Is the President prepared to admit the possibility of a “not guilty” verdict and watch Khalid Sheik Mohammed walk out of the Federal District Court in New York? I would think not. How about a hung jury? Some combination of his "peers" could easily come up with a hung jury.
It is hard to see what good will come out of this show. I do not believe that an enemy combatant captured outside the U.S. has any Constitutional rights, and an enemy combatant in the U.S. not in uniform is a spy. Military tribunals were the proper forum for disposition of these combatants. I fear that the Democrats who were so eager to make political capital at Guantanamo by treating the prisoners as citizens have bought a problem that has no limits.
Certainly the message to the military is clear – do not take prisoners lest Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi use them against you.
1. "Strange Fruit Hanging from the Poplar Tree" - Billie Holliday
posted by Contraria | 8:52 PM
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