Reid: 'I am at war with your country'-(transcript of shoe bomber sentencing; great judge here!)

CNN.com ^ | January 31, 2003

[CHARLITE]

The following is a partial transcript of the court hearing in which Richard Reid was sentenced to life in prison for his confessed plan to try and blow up a jetliner with explosives he had hidden in his shoes. The exchange is between Reid and Judge William Young.

RICHARD REID: I start by praising Allah because life today is no good.

REID: I further admit my allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah.

So, for this reason, I think I ought not apologize for my actions. I am at war with your country.

JUDGE WILLIAM YOUNG: You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists.

We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You're a big fellow. But you're not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense Trooper Santiago had it right when first you were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and he said, "You're no big deal." You're no big deal.

[DannyTN]

"RICHARD REID: I start by praising Allah because life today is no good."

What a contrast with ...

"I come that they might have life and might have it more abundantly." - Jesus

[the anti-liberal]

He's a Reagan appointee.

Imagine the exchange had it been a Clinton appointee...

[Fudd Fan]

Ooops, I thought for a second you meant Harry Reid.

[Paleo Conservative]

At first I thought this was about the Senate Minority Leader.

[raccoonradio]

Shoe-Bomb by the Capitol Steps. "Terrorism on a shoestring"

[Northern Alliance]

Gee, how do we get this judge into politics?

[HiTech RedNeck]

Would it follow that he would be mad at Allah if life were good? He sounds like Satan.

[Northern Alliance]

The transcript is not long, and it is well worth reading. The allowable excerpt doesn't do justice to this exchange

Absolutely. The transcript, as powerful as it is, does not capture what I can only call the poetry and beauty of the judge's words.

[pleasedontzotme]

He's actually a Democrat, appointed by Reagan for quick confirmation through a Democratic Senate in the eighties.

[linkinpunk]

Richard Durbin: US troops are Nazis.

Harry Reid: I am at war with your country.

[mass55th]

"When I saw the thread, I thought of old "dingey".

Me too. The message is "Dingy Harry" through and through.

[Vigilanteman]

I start by praising Allah because life today is no good.

Well, put on one of these, end your no-good life, and go see Allah.

[rbg81]

I am sure that Harry Reid is at war with our country too. I wonder if he is any relation to Richard.

[linkinpunk]

Better check his Gucci's before he goes on the Senate floor next time.

[DannyTN]

Would it follow that he would be mad at Allah if life were good?

You would think so. But I bet he would still think life wasn't good, no matter what.

[Chgogal]

Mega Ping...

Now this is a judge! Not those selfish shortsighted Supreme Court Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Stevens and Souter. They shame the Constitution of the United States.

Enjoy this transcript Cornpone.

CHARLITE, thank you for this find.

[OESY]

"Why do they keep making me sit at the little boys' table?"