Posted on 11/13/2001 1:54:59 PM PST by Recovering_Democrat
Just flashed up as a graphic on Fox News Channel. I assume this means WHEN our special forces get Usama bin Laden in custody they can have a nice, quick, easy trial...and then execute him. (After a lengthy questioning period, no doubt.) Am I wrong?
Oh, I'm sure we're watched VERY closely by:
the Republican Party
the Administration
the Rush Limbaugh show
and, laughably, the 'Rats.
All of these entities, I'm sure, keep an eye on FR to see what TRUE Constitution-Loving Americans think about our world. :)
To be clear I'm not against doing him in so much as setting a precident.
For the record I'd like Bush to send in snipers and put the guy out of our misery without a trial. You start messing around with judicial systems and proceedures and you make it easier to mess around with them the next time.
Dan
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the enemy who "without uniform, comes secretly through the lines for the purpose of waging war by destruction of life or property" is an "unlawful combatant" who is not entitled to access our jury system. quote from Michelle Malkin's article 10.24.01.
So don't think this relates only to bin Laden, but to any illegal alien caught in the US doing or having the purpose to do bad things. The only misgiving I have is: are we at war? Does it make a difference or has Bush just jumped that gate?
Thus, there is historical precedent for a military tribunal to try the terrorists.
Thank God Almighty we finally have a President who cares about the American people. Foreign belligerants have waged acts of war against the US. They can reap the fruits of war and that includes military justice. It cost the US taxpayers 35 million to prosecute the first band of WTC bombers and not one US citizen in the bunch. A ludicrous outrage.
Um, different jury pool, for one difference (Military Judges versus civilian Jury of 12).
Also, we don't have enough information to know if these trials will be American military trials or Saudi/Turkish military trials. Remember, each ally has its own special contribution to this war, and there may be some ways to avoid "martyrdom" that are better than others...
I think most Americans see the "peacenicks" as some radical left wing waco group.
We don't have to worry about what liberals say anymore. Clinton destroyed them too.
They're being ignored, "big time."
Go ahead and do what you want to the enemy.
Wonderful.
---max
Bush Order: Terror Trials by Military
WASHINGTON- President Bush signed an order Tuesday that would allow for the trial of people accused of terrorism by a special military commission instead of civilian courts, The Associated Press has learned.
The order, signed by Bush before he left for Crawford, Texas, gives the Bush administration another avenue to bring the Sept. 11 terrorists to justice, said White House counsel Albert Gonzales.
"This is a new tool to use against terrorism," Gonzales said in a telephone interview. The White House was to release the order late Tuesday.
Gonzales, a former Texas Supreme Court judge who is the president's top lawyer, said a military commission could have several advantages over a civilian court. It is easier to protect the sources and methods of investigators in military proceedings, for example, and a military trial can be held overseas.
Gonzales said there may be times when prosecutors feel a trial in America would be unsafe.
"There may not be a need for this and the president may make a determination that he does not want to use this tool, but he felt it appropriate that he have this tool available to him," the lawyer said.
Under the order, Bush could establish a military commission in the future by asking the secretary of defense to establish the rules for one.
"This does not identify by name who should be exposed to military justice," Gonzales said. "It just provides the framework that, should the president have findings in the future, he could" order Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld to establish such a commission.
Gonzales said there is precedent for such panels.
President Franklin Roosevelt had World War II saboteurs tried by military commission, as did President Lincoln during the Civil War, the lawyer said. Indeed, Lincoln assassination plotters were tried and convicted by military court, he said.
"This is a global war. To have successful prosecutions, we might have to give up sources and methods" in a civilian court. "We don't want to have to do that."
Gonzalez said: "Any individual subject to the order would be given a full and fair trial, pursuant to the secretary of defense."
The order is the latest effort by the Bush administration to toughen the nation's laws against terrorists.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the administration pushed through Congress an anti-terrorism bill that civil liberties groups say went to far, violating Americans' constitutional rights. It expands the FBI's wiretapping and electronic surveillance authority and imposes stronger penalties for harboring or financing terrorists. The measure also increases the number of crimes considered terrorist acts and toughens the punishments for committing them.
I would expect that this would not be limited to terriorists caught overseas, but might be applied to terriorists caught in this country.
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