TERRORISM: Faith In Our Justice System
Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the
five Guantanamo Bay detainees charged with planning the Sept. 11, 2001
terrorist attacks will be facing justice a few blocks from the site of the
former World Trade Center buildings. In one of the "highest-profile
and highest-security terrorism trials in history," Justice Department
prosecutors will seek out the death penalty for the self-described
mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the four others. What made
Holder's announcement so significant is that the venue will be a U.S.
federal court, rather than the military commissions favored by the Bush
administration. "I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide
these defendants a fair trial, just
as they have for over 200 years," said Holder. "The alleged 9/11
conspirators will stand trial in our justice system before an impartial
jury under long-established rules and procedures." The New York Times
called the Attorney General's decision "bold
and principled" and the Center for American Progress' Ken Gude said it
was "a
victory for the rule of law and the American system of justice." Many
conservatives, however, rushed
out knee-jerk statements condemning the decision, claiming that it
imperils American security and won't
deliver a proper verdict. But not only are they ignoring the
long-standing precedent
of prosecuting terrorists in U.S. courts, they're insulting the U.S.
legal system and essentially saying that America's laws aren't strong
enough to administer justice.
MOVING AWAY FROM A DISGRACEFUL LEGACY:
One of the Bush administration's most sordid
legacies was the illegitimate,
unjust system of military commissions it created to try Guantanamo Bay
detainees. These tribunals essentially stripped
defendants' legal rights, admitted evidence obtained through torture,
and were declared
unconstitutional by courts. Although Obama has kept
a revised version of these commissions that are more in line with
military standards, his administration's decision to try the 9/11
defendants in federal court is one of its boldest steps toward "rectify[ing]
the disgraceful Bush detention policies." The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder
also notes that this decision is refreshing because, unlike under the Bush
administration, the Attorney General appears
to be acting in spite of political
interests, rather than being guided by them. Holder knew that his
announcement would attract significant criticism from people who don't
want the trials on U.S. soil, but he also recognized that the status quo
wasn't making America any safer. "It's also not
in our interest to denigrate our system of criminal justice -- the
very bedrock of this country," added Tom Andrews, director of the National
Campaign to Close Guantanamo. "If you are accused, you get to know what
you know what you are accused of, you get to face your accusers, and you
get to defend yourself in court, and then you face a trial and a
conviction. This is who we are as a system. The Taliban? You can get a
trial and a beheading in a few hours. That's not our system of
justice."
A STRONG
PRECEDENT: Many conservatives couldn't wait to issue statements
blasting Holder's announcement and show how little faith they have in the
U.S. justice system. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said that
it "puts the interests of liberal special interest groups before
the safety and security of the American people." Rep. Peter King
(R-NY) claimed that the decision puts New York at a greater
risk of a terrorist attack. Both Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John
Cornyn (R-TX) said that it was inappropriate to treat the 9/11 defendants
as "common
criminals." Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin took to Facebook to
express her thoughts about the
Obama administration's "atrocious" decision. "Hang 'em high," wrote
Palin about what she would like to see happen to Mohammed and the four
other men. "It's
an unnecessary advantage to give to the terrorists," Rudy Giuliani
said about the trials on CNN on Sunday. "I don't know why you want to give
terrorists advantages. And secondly, it's an unnecessary risk to the city
of New York, which already has any number of risks." All of these
right-wing statements are disappointingly predictable, but Giuliani's is
the most hypocritical. After all, as mayor of New York City, Giuliani praised
the prosecution of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers. In 1994, he
said that the federal trial "demonstrates that New Yorkers won't meet
violence with violence, but with
a far greater weapon -- the law." "It should show that our legal
system is the most mature legal system in the history of the world," he
added. He has even supported the prosecution of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
in New York City. In 2001, Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan,
went to Giuliani and asked him if he approved of bringing the terrorist
suspects into the city; Giuliani indicated that "he
would be supportive of her." The U.S. government has "prosecuted
195 terrorists in civilian courts since the terrorist attacks of Sept.
11, 2001, with a 91 percent conviction." Only "three terrorists have been
tried before military tribunals."
CLOSING GUANTANAMO: Holder's announcement
was a "major
milestone" toward Obama's goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison
facility. In 2007, Gen. Colin Powell stressed that closing the facility is
one of the most important steps the U.S. can take toward combating
global extremism. "We literally bang
ourselves in the head by having that place," he told GQ. "What are we
doing this to ourselves for? Because we're worried about the 380 guys
there? Bring them here! Give them lawyers and habeas corpus. We can deal
with them. We are paying a price when the rest of the world sees an
America that seems to be afraid and is not the America they remember." The
Obama administration has indicated that it will likely
miss its Jan. 22 deadline to close the facility, but it continues to
work on finding places to relocate the detainees. Although places like
Thomson, IL welcome
the possibility of incarcerating the detainees in their town -- as
well as the thousands of jobs that would come along with such a move --
conservatives continue to fear-monger against any cooperation. Gude has
outlined four steps the Obama administration should pursue to get
the Guantanamo closure back on track, including pushing the deadline
back to July 2010 and limiting military detention "only to enemy fighters
captured in combat zones" and using "criminal law to prosecute detainees
captured far from any
battlefield."
