Attorney general Eric Holder, last week announced his intention to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others to New York City to be tried, in civilian court, for their crimes. This comes as a great step forward for the eventual closing of America’s blight, Guantanamo Bay. It also comes as a victory for the rule of law. But this proposal was not greeted with the universal enthusiasm it might be expected to have. America’s own Taliban party, the modern movement-conservative cancer growing within the Republican party, wasted no time in denouncing the decision. They have made it abundantly obvious that they do not respect the rule of law and have no faith in our nation’s courts, civilians and defense officials.
The same people who foam at the mouth when speaking of American exceptionalism now have the great task of explaining why, as a result of this trial, America will no longer exist. The criticism has, as is often the case, a tinge of racist and or violent language. Examples are easy to find like Sarah Palin’s exclamation that the decision was “Atrocious” and that we should “Hang ‘em high,” a wonderful allusion to lynching. Former New York City mayor Rudy “9/11″ Giuliani has stated his belief that KSM have no civilian trial even though he has previously been a great proponent of just such a strategy. He instead blames Obama for the shooting on Fort Hood, calling it an act of Islamic terrorism. Acts like this, he claims, will only increase if we attempt to bring KSM to trial. There’s also former attorney general Mike Mukasey and his fantasy about Rep. Moran, who came out in favor of the trial, getting his “head examined” by Maj. Nidal Hasan. These statements, when taken together allow us to understand the message that conservatives are broadcasting. The right is catering to the anti-arab racism that has been a constant theme this past decade and with renewed strength since Nidal’s infamous shooting to foment anger and energize a steadily shrinking base.
Where this campaign moves from disgusting to comical is the attempts the right is using to fear-monger Americans about the coming trial. From explosions to fantastic escapes and even kidnappings the right seems to fear, and root for, the failure of America to bring these people to justice. After Rep. Shadegg spoke about the possibility that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s daughter could be kidnapped by terrorists, one Talking Points Memo reader jokes, “Apparently, all the posters of Obama as the Joker have convinced the Republicans that they live IN a Batman movie.” These critics seem fully convinced that these terrorists’ cohorts were perfectly at ease allowing for their peers to be jailed for years in degrading conditions and undergoing torture, but a trial would somehow be the act that finally draws retribution.
The most important lesson to be reinforced by this event is conservatives’ absolute abhorrence for the rule of law. This group, which goes to great lengths to align itself with notions of patriotism and snctification of the constitution has in mind objectives quite to the contrary. Mike Huckabee, who has made his distrust of the constitution public when he said during his failed presidential bid that we need “…to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view,” has now decided that if something bad happens in this case it will be the end of the Obama administration. Bill O’reilly stated, while arguing on his show against the trial, “I don’t care about the constitution.” Senator Inhofe tried to introduce an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that would prevent money going to building or modifying prisons for purposes of housing detainees from Guantanamo Bay. Thankfully, despite Joe Lieberman’s vote in favor of the amendment, it was voted down. As badly as these people want it, we cannot let these detainees rot away, out of site in Guantanamo Bay. The US courts have successfully tried many terrorists previously. The US prison system has and is keeping terrorist inmates without problems. They are not going to break out and wreak havoc like a comic book villain.
Justice must be brought and verdicts found. Guantanamo Bay must be closed. Those that are innocent must be set free and those guilty of crimes must be given sentences