The purpose of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is to uphold the Constitution and to protect American citizens from crime and threats. The Obama Justice Department has failed miserably to carry out this simple task (see my previous posts). The latest blow to the DOJ came this week when Guantanamo detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, was found guilty on only one of 284 counts. Ghailani was the first enemy combatant to be tried in a civilian court instead of the customary military tribunal for wartime criminals. His lone conviction was one count of conspiracy to blow up government buildings. He could be sentenced up to 20 years for his role in killing 224 people in U.S. embassy buildings in both Kenya and Tanzania.
The Obama White House and DOJ head, Eric Holder, had all but guaranteed to the American people that they could obtain reasonable convictions for suspected terrorists in civilian courts. Ghailani was the first go on trial because his case was supposed to be a slam dunk. Ghailani’s defense claimed that although he associated with Al Qaida operatives he was oblivious and unaware of their activities. The Obama White House called the capture of Ghailani as a “rare find” and a “valuable” catch. Ghailani had long been suspected for not only his role in the U.S. embassy bombings, but for his role as an expert forger. Ghailani’s true value in the Al Qaida organization was his ability to forge government documents including passports, which enable terrorists to travel the globe without detection.
The problem with civilian court trials is that suspected terrorists are provided the same rights as every American citizen. And it is important to note, these are more rights than what our military personnel receive who are tried before military tribunals. The American court system has built in “protections” that favor defendants. This is why known murderers such as O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake have walked free. This is why defenses such as temporary insanity, mental defect, and stupidity all work in the American court system to free murderers and pedophiles. Case in point, during the Ghailani trial, a key witness that placed the explosives, used to blow up embassies, directly into Ghailani’s hands was not allowed to testify. And the fact that Ghailani was found guilty of conspiracy means he was complicit in the crime. It is beyond my imagination how Ghailani can be found complicit in the crime, but innocent of the murders. This can only happen in the civilian American court system. It only takes one person out of 12 to acquit and apparently that was the case in the Ghailani trial.
The liberal left and the world will praise the Ghailani outcome because it shows that terrorists can be tried in civilian courts and be found guilty. They will also argue that information obtained using enhanced interrogation techniques will be disallowed in trials enabling defendants such as Ghailani to walk free. This is a distinct possibility, but the information would have never been obtained in the first place had enhanced interrogation techniques not been used. And in the case of Ghailani, it was the result of a key witness being disqualified; his acquittal on 283 counts had nothing to do with enhanced interrogation techniques.
The Holder DOJ has been a complete and utter embarrassment. And what’s worse, they have failed to protect American citizens from terrorist threats as shown by the Ghailani trial. Think about it; what was the outcome of the Timothy McVeigh trial for blowing up the government building in Oklahoma City and killing 169 people? He was guilty of conspiracy as well as the murder of 169 people, and sentenced to death. That was justice. Do you think the families and friends of the 224 people killed in the African embassy bombings think justice was served for Ghailani? Ghailani will be free within 20 years and he will therefore, be allowed to wreak more havoc on global citizens. We can be thankful that Americans will not allow the DOJ to try 9-11 masterminds, Khalid Sheikh Muhammed, in a New York City civilian court. Imagine the outcry if Muhammed was only convicted of conspiracy to kill 3000 Americans on 9-11 and allowed to walk free in 20 years to do it all over again. The Ghailani case is not justice, but instead it is evidence of American judicial futility.
No comments:
Post a Comment