Posted on 06/18/2008 6:21:12 AM PDT by RaceBannon
Obama advisers say bin Laden can appeal to U.S. civilian courts
Barack Obama has expressed support for the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of civilian prosecution of terrorism suspects, and his advisers said Tuesday that if Osama bin Laden were captured, he too should face civilian prosecution. – AP Bill Sammon, The Examiner 2008-06-18 07:00:00.0 Current rank: # 13 of 6,452
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama’s foreign policy advisers said Tuesday that Osama bin Laden, if captured, should be allowed to appeal his case to U.S. civilian courts, a privilege opposed by John McCain.
Responding to questions from The Examiner, Sen. John Kerry and former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke said bin Laden would benefit from last week’s Supreme Court decision giving terrorism suspects habeas corpus, the right to appeal their military detention to civilian courts.
“If he were to be brought back,” Clarke said of bin Laden, “the Supreme Court ruling holds on the right of habeas corpus.”
Kerry, who applauded the Supreme Court ruling, said it will be carried out by whichever candidate wins the presidency.
“The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that they have those rights,” he said. “If John McCain were president, he would have to give them those rights.”
Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s senior foreign policy adviser, said those rights should not be extended to bin Laden or the hundreds of terrorism suspects being held by the U.S. military at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“The individuals we hold at Guantanamo are very, very dangerous people,” Scheunemann said. “To give them full access to the federal courts and the criminal justice system is fraught with danger, moving forward, and likely to make America less safe, unlike Senator Obama’s claim of supporting the decision that it made America safer.”
On Monday, Obama applauded the civilian prosecution of terrorists before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“In previous terrorist attacks — for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center — we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial,” he told ABC. “They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated.”
Obama said President Bush has relied too heavily on military prosecution of terrorists, which has “given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, ‘Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims.’ ”
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Obama wants “to take a step back to the failed policies that treated terrorism solely as a law enforcement matter, rather than a clear and present danger. Barack Obama appears to believe that terrorists should be treated like criminals — a belief that underscores his fundamental lack of judgment regarding our national security.”
The attack sounded familiar to Kerry, who was the Democratic presidential nominee four years ago.
“This is exactly what they tried to say back in 2004, and the record absolutely contradicts it,” Kerry told The Examiner. “Every Democrat voted to go to war and attack the Taliban and al Qaeda, the people who attacked us. That is not a [legalistic] approach.”
bsammon@dcexaminer.com
Examiner
If he's brought back, President Bush should have him hung from the South Portico of the White House, and leave the carcass there to rot.
Incredible. Do these people not realize the difference in focus between criminal prosecution and military action? That is, criminal prosecution is largely concerned with punishing acts which have already occurred and can be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt while military action is concerned with preventing future acts of war. While you can punish through the court system attempts at crimes and conspiracies, it is largely ineffective to prevent future acts. Try calling the cops if you suspect a crime will go down soon.
So now we have an assurance from the Obama Campaign that when my city is nuked and I am reduced to a shadow on the wall, the attackers will be prosecuted to the extent of international law. How comforting.
‘jus like an american gang banger.
/s
If he’s caught by ground troops, I hope someone has the foresight to put a bullet in his brain. Otherwise, we’ll have 5 years of pity parties in the US courts and media.
Yeah. It's BRush's fault. Now all the terrorist want to stay at Club Gitmo.
Let The Idiot keep talking.
Personally, I'd treat those muslims a lot differently, something on the order of the treatment they gave Daniel Pearl or Nick Berg.
This is the opening gambit to allow detainees to sue the US for millions upon millions of dollars.
Lawyers will get rich -— just like the tobacco lawyers.
Taxpayers will be hit hard. It will tie up the courts forever -— but hey, we’ll get more and more multi-millionaire lawyers.
Do you recall in the early days after 9-11, when Phil Donahue went on BOR and pleaded that instead of going to war with AQ in Afghanistan that we should “send in some international police to arrest the perpetrators”?
I think these loony libs want to replace all military action with ordinary police efforts and fight the WOT by sheer force of the badge, which of course strikes utter fear in the hearts of the most hardened terrorist.
A piece of lead takes less effort.
bookmark
Thanks for the ping, Race.
This guy might interest you...
Other entities deserving inclusion would be global media outlets (al Jazeera, the BBC, CNN), militias (Hamas, Hezbollah, the Mahdi Army, the Taliban), political parties, religious institutions and movements, terrorist organizations (al Qaeda), drug cartels,...
...more from visionary /SARCASM Richard N. Haass...here...
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20080501faessay87304/richard-n-haass/the-age-of-nonpolarity.html
On the other hand worms find them appealing.
The “Free Mumia” crowd will glom on to him.
I am convinced that Muslim extremists see in B Hussein Obama a return not just to the failed policies of Clinton, but the disasters of Jimmy Carter. As such, I think they will, should B Hussein Obama be elected, launch an attack on a US interest within days of an Obama inauguration.
Sort of the inverse of Iran releasing US hostages in the days immediately before Reagan took office.
I'm going to throw up now
He's a plant. He's doesn't put his hand on his heart (it's NOT automatic to him), he makes a big deal--like he's proud NOT to wear a pin representing all this Country has gone through, he spends over 20 years in a church that teaches their young that white people are bad, AND he spent a good deal of his youth being brought up Muslim. Don't be fooled!
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