Posted by
Billy on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 12:05:29 PM
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.
(The above is part of a column written by Pat Buchanan. Read more of the column below.)
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
waterboarded if he refused to talk?
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.
(Amen Pat. Obama will be in trouble if something happens because of this trial being held in the Big Apple. Do read the whole column right here.)