A judge is set to hear arguments about possible violation of the “rights” of the accused terrorist bomber of two US embassies in Africa that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans (http://tinyurl.com/ybqrqjo). Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was moved from Gitmo to NY last spring and is the first Gitmo prisoner to be prosecuted in a US civilian court.
This is the opening act in the circus of US civilian trials for terrorists such as the accused mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, brought to NY for trial by Attorney General Eric Holder. Terrorist defense lawyers will begin splitting hairs and finding legal loopholes to obfuscate the charges, treating these terrorists as if they were nothing more than cat burglars caught with stolen goods.
This first trial begins with matters of the accused’s rights and will no doubt continue down a path portraying the terrorist as victim. The Bush administration, the CIA and our military will be questioned more than the terrorist and America’s foreign policies over the past century will end up on trial while the 224 innocent people killed in the bombings will be given scant attention. The world will watch in fascination as the American Justice System gives comfort and aid to our sworn enemy and allows self mutilation to become the main event.
These civilian terrorist trials are expected to last years and cost millions and millions of dollars. They will probably continue long after Obama is voted out of office and Holder’s decision is universally recognized as the blunder it is. However, the gears of American Justice turn very slowly and once started, they are very difficult to stop.
The show has begun.
David J. Hentosh
