Reading Response #3

6 November 2009

Written in response to "The Right Place to Try Terrorists" out of The Washington Post.

          On the morning of 11 September 2001, this country suffered a tragic attack delivered by terrorists – cowards.  The events of that horrifying day caused a rounding up of terrorists, or those believed to be terrorists, by our government.  For now, those terrorists are safely imprisoned at the military detention center Guantanamo Bay.  In the first days of his administration, President Obama signed an executive order calling for the closure of Guantanamo Bay by January 2010.  When Guantanamo Bay closes, where will these terrorists go?  Will they be afforded due process in the federal court systems on the mainland?  I vehemently believe that bringing the terrorists here would be unsafe for this country and for the terrorists.  I fear the blindfold that Lady Justice has worn for centuries will come crashing to the ground should the terrorists be brought to the mainland for their trials.

            In his article “The Right Place to Try Terrorists,” Michael Mukasey writes about the recent trial and judgment of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri.  Marri came to this country “to help organize a second wave of attacks after the Sept. 11[sic] atrocities….” (par. 1).  In December 2001 he was arrested for the first time for credit card fraud, the charges were then ammeded to include lying to federal agents.  In 2003, he was determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant and moved to the naval brig in Charleston, North Carolina.  Marri challenged his move to the naval brig, and those legal challenges were about to reach the Supreme Court (Mukasey par. 3).   In February, he was transferred “to civilian custody and charged with providing material support for terrorist activities” (Mukasey par. 3).  On 29 October 2009, Marri received a sentence for his crimes that could allow for his release in just six short years (Mukasey par. 1).

            I believe in our judicial system when it works for all those involved, both the victims and the criminal.  I feel that for the terrorists currently imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay jurisprudence will not prevail.  First, there is not a single courthouse in this country where a safe and fair trial can be conducted.  Preventing retaliation from terrorist groups or angry American citizens would be a security nightmare.  Then there is the matter of finding an impartial jury.  Where are we to find juries of American citizens who would be willing to keep an open mind when it comes to terrorists?  I try to keep an open mind, but in this matter, I cannot.  If an impartial jury is to be found, then there is the matter of keeping the terrorists safe in our prisons without inflicting the cruel and unusual punishment of permanent solitary confinement.  We must also keep the other criminals in these prisons safe from the terrorists.  I do not see how any, let alone all, of this can be achieved.

            If it is not prudent to bring the terrorists to the mainland for justice, how about sending them back to their native lands?  That as well is problematic.  There are those who will be shot upon arriving.  Sure that will eliminate one more terrorist, but then they become a martyr for their cause.  Then there are the countries that will just release them to continue their mission of terror.  Not a viable option in my book.  Finally, there are those who would suffer prisons so inhumane it would make your stomach crawl.  While I feel terrorism is a vile act against humanity, I also feel that we as a country should not contribute to such atrocities that can be found in some foreign prisons.

            I feel the only viable option is to maintain the operation of Guantanamo Bay.  And to try terrorists as we did the war criminals of World War II.  I think that we need to unite with other countries as a global nation and deal with terrorists in the manner they behaved – as cowards.  From my perspective this is the only safe option for all involved and the only way Lady Justice can keep her blindfold firmly in place.

Works Cited

Mulasey, Michael B.  “The Right Place to Try Terrorists.”  Editorial.  The Washington Post 6 Nov. 2009.  Web.  6 Nov. 2009.