What Glenn Said
by tristero
This is literally true: the Right’s reaction to yesterday’s announcement — we’re too afraid to allow trials and due process in our country — is the textbook definition of “surrendering to terrorists.” It’s the same fear they’ve been spewing for years. As always, the Right’s tough-guy leaders wallow in a combination of pitiful fear and cynical manipulation of the fear of their followers. Indeed, it’s hard to find any group of people on the globe who exude this sort of weakness and fear more than the American Right.
People in capitals all over the world have hosted trials of high-level terrorist suspects using their normal justice system. They didn’t allow fear to drive them to build island-prisons or create special commissions to depart from their rules of justice. Spain held an open trial in Madrid for the individuals accused of that country’s 2004 train bombings. The British put those accused of perpetrating the London subway bombings on trial right in their normal courthouse in London. Indonesia gave public trials using standard court procedures to the individuals who bombed a nightclub in Bali. India used a Mumbai courtroom to try the sole surviving terrorist who participated in the 2008 massacre of hundreds of residents. In Argentina, the Israelis captured Adolf Eichmann, one of the most notorious Nazi war criminals, and brought him to Jerusalem to stand trial for his crimes.
It’s only America’s Right that is too scared of the Terrorists — or which exploits the fears of their followers — to insist that no regular trials can be held and that “the safety and security of the American people” mean that we cannot even have them in our country to give them trials. As usual, it’s the weakest and most frightened among us who rely on the most flamboyant, theatrical displays of “strength” and “courage” to hide what they really are.
This has been another edition of What Glenn Said.
Makes you wonder, why a blogger is first out the gate on this patently obvious response to the craven cowards – sorry, I meant the Republicans. You’d think a top Democrat would have smacked them down immediately. But that would entail a Democratic political leadership that actually felt comfortable about winning elections and leading the country.
Answering some questions:
“But what if the terrorists attack New York again?”
You think they won’t if we don’t hold trials?
Reality-check, people: Whether it is from the rightwing lunatics who consider bin Laden reality-based or the rightwing lunatics who consider Beck, Palin, et al. reality-based – or some other demented nuts who hate Americans – there will be another terrorist attack, and more Americans will die. The only questions are when, where, and whether it could have been prevented. (In fact, contrary to conventional wisdom, this country has seen some dreadful terrorist attacks since 9/11: the anthrax mailings, probably an attack on LAX on July 4, 2002, and the assassination of Dr. Tiller, for example )
“But politically, another attack would give Republicans a perfect ‘I told you so’ moment. Why court – literally- such possibilities?”
Whether or not there’s a trial, an unambiguous and spectacular attack like 9/11 won’t stop Republicans from immediately demanding Obama’s resignation. And I mean immediately, as in, “Obama must go now, he failed to keep us safe. Oh, right, I suppose that terrorist attack thingy was not fun for some people. But there’s a silver lining to every cloud ’cause now we really have a perfect opportunity to get rid of that commie/nazi you-know-what-I’m-talking-about-wink-wink-but-it’s-not-racism-that’s-unfair.”