Posted on 05/04/2006 8:06:24 AM PDT by 68skylark
The French have apparently not let the ink dry on the jury submission from yesterday's sentencing recommendation in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial before starting to interfere with its implementation. Le Monde reports today that French officials have contacted the US in hopes of transferring Moussaoui to France in order to serve his sentence (h/t: CQ reader Leo T):
n éventuel transfèrement de Zacarias Moussaoui en France, contre qui un jury américain a requis la prison à perpétuité, pourrait être examiné dans le cadre de conventions judiciaires avec les Etats-Unis, a affirmé jeudi le ministère des Affaires étrangères français.
"La France et les Etats-Unis d'Amérique sont liés par deux conventions sur le transfèrement des personnes condamnées, une convention bilatérale du 25 janvier 1983 et une convention du Conseil de l'Europe entrée en vigueur le 1er juillet 1985", a déclaré à la presse le porte-parole du Quai d'Orsay, Jean-Baptiste Mattéi.
My high-school French is rather poor these days (thank heaven for BabelFish!), but the gist of this report is that France wants to rely on two bilateral conventions to extradite Moussaoui when sentencing is complete. They wish to explore the transfer of the al-Qaeda terrorist to French custody to serve out his sentence, supposedly under American law, but with an eye towards their own brand of justice. The conventions mentioned in the article date to 1983 and 1985, and give specific processes for the transfer of French citizens convicted in American courts, as well as the reverse.
The French show the minimum respect for American sensibilities by announcing they will wait until after the formal sentencing today to request this extradition. Moussaoui's mother has publicly pressed the Chirac government to allow the erstwhile terrorist to serve his sentence nearby, and to do so as soon as possible.
This is a small taste of what would have occurred if the jury had given Moussaoui the death penalty. The French government would have given this much more visibility even today had that occurred, and it would have continued for years until we executed the supposedly mentally ill terrorist. As it is, if the French want to confirm American opinion of their nation, then they should by all means pursue this diplomatic effort. It will give us plenty of opportunity to remind the Chirac government of its lack of fidelity in its pledge to support us if we went back to the Security Council just once more on Iraq. We can also talk about all of the bilateral efforts between Paris and Baghdad that undermined the sanctions regime, sent military arms to Saddam Hussein, and paid bribes and kickbacks to the Ba'athist regime that Oil-For-Food specifically sought to sideline.
If the French get their hands on Moussaoui, we will only wake up a few years later to French pronouncements of miracle cures and rehabilitation, and watch the video of the AQ terrorist gleefully leaving the French prison over the protests of the American government. We do not wish to rely on French tenacity in the war on terror; we learned that lesson a long time ago. Let the French try to invoke whatever treaties they want to request Moussaoui's extradition, and let them stomp their feet when we tell them to pound sand.
His terrorist conspiracy was enacted here. We would be insane to allow him to serve his sentence elsewhere, especially when Euro-weenies such as the French will allow him all sorts of visitations and benefits to make his sentence more palatable, and would very likely commute that sentence after some minimal period of time (I can easily imagine the 'movement' on his behalf in a few years "Alors, Monsieur Moussaoui, he did not actually kill anyone, zeee poor man has suffered enough and his dear maman wants him home!"). Even if by some miracle the French would keep him locked away (and we cannot possibly rely upon any assurances to that effect), he does not deserve the benefit of being closer to friends and family, enjoying visitations, etc.
Lock the scumbag in a supermax hole and let him rot forever.
OOooooo, c'est une très bonne idée!
You don't honestly believe we'll let France have him, do you? We still have Pollock, despite the fact that Israel wants him back.
The way things are going, I'm confident they will get their hands on him again someday, when 'rats (or rinos) are back in power and the french twist their arms a little.
SCREEEEEEW the French!
If they want him they better pay the American government for his trial expenses and cost of his maintenance!
They could put him in an old age home, he will be dead by august.
Sounds good to ME! He is a disgusting PIG!
They can have him.
As long as they agree to let us deliver him.
Toss his a$$ out of a plane at 20,000 feet over Paris.
Heck I'd give the pilots an extra 100 points if they can skewer him atop the Eiffel tower.
Mark my words.......
There will be American Hostages takes overseas, They will be displayed in the usual way, kneeling before a gang of black clad masked animals, they will plead for the release of the POS, and for thier lives.
Upon our refusal they will be beheaded.....
God forbid the French get him... they will release him on the just the THREAT of the above
Now, you know....John F'n Kerry, Levin, Biden and gang all believe we need to make more of an effort to be LIKED by these countries...
So I am sure they would say, sure, send him over.
Of course we should hand over Moussaoui to face justice in France. Just as soon as he completes his sentence here.
Perhaps this is for internal consumption. Why would the French government want to have the trouble of holding him ? Now of course there was that case last year (I think) where a notable terrorist suspect committed "suicide" while being transferred .. jumped out of a window don'tcha know.
How many pieces do they want him in?
Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys. (CH.E.S.M.)
There may be a treaty issue however I am surrprised they did not jump up sooner because he faced the death penalty.
I am certain, like all good treaties there is an out for this. I guarantee the treacherous french would have put it in there for their own use.
The key is to keep the state department out of this.
Remember the US State department are alqueda supporters...or at the very least anti-american.
I think you've nailed it -- there's no way anyone in France thinks we're stupid enough to hand this guy over. The proposal is just a way for a few French politicians to pander to anti-American voters at home.
I don't trust our politicians in Washington. Those jackass will probably sell Moussaoui for a few cases of French wine. (Incidentally French wine stinks compared to good old US wine)
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