Justice Now!

8 September 2006



Al-Qaeda Murderers Should Face Civilian Justice

George “LBJ” Bush is trying to get his illegal secret prisons and military tribunals legalized by Congress. In a rather sharp political move, Mr. Bush has put the spotlight on the one card he has to play in this election. Because polls say the Republicans still score higher than Democrats on fighting terrorism (why is a tribute to the folly of the electorate), focusing attention on military trials for alleged Al Qaeda murderers should play well. Yet, if Mr. Bush wants to be tough on terrorists, military tribunals aren’t the way to go. Civilian jury trials in the Southern District of New York, just a few blocks from where the World Trade Center stood, would surpass the military approach in all respects.

First and foremost, civilian trials would be open to the same scrutiny that every other US criminal trial is, and this would be a lesson in American civics for the other side. Rules of evidence would have to be obeyed, unlike the proposed military rules where “secret” evidence would convict defendants who couldn’t refute it because they wouldn’t be allowed to see it. The administration claims it would give up too much intelligence to the bad guys to do this. Piffle. The big problem the White House has is the perception that it is staffed by bumbling, trigger-happy idiots. Civilian trials would prove to the world how good the intelligence gathering is, how compelling the evidence is, and the White House would get the benefit of being seen to be fair.

Second, there’s no need for legislation to try these 14 current suspects in US civilian courts. If Mr. Bush as any kind of political agenda here, it would best be served by announcing that the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attack, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, was indicted a week before the election -- something he could achieve under civilian law. Also, there is no worry of security lapses here. The New York Police Department handled the attack that morning, so one can be assured the accused wouldn’t escape. And no judge in New York would set bail, so there's no flight risk. The legislation the president wants will be a hurried job with insufficient reflection on the constitutional and legal precedents being set. This will be a problem in future years that civilian trials avoid entirely.

Third, trying these people with specially established military tribunals gives them status with their target audience in the Muslim world. It raises them to the status of world leaders, much as Goering and his bunch were. They are not. If guilty of the crimes alleged, they are common criminals who merit nothing more (or less) than a common criminal trial. To treat them any differently is to give them a propaganda victory.

Finally, justice can only arise from the interests of the victims being addressed. There are close to 3,000 families in civilian life who are owed justice. Giving the accused over to military courts denies the victims their day in court. In short, Mr. Bush owes New York City the right to try those who conspired to kill its residents. He may be satisfied with a secret proceeding in Guantanamo, but the people who suffered attack five years ago won’t.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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