Perhaps Rep. Bob Goodlatte (Roanoke County)[1]
is right, perhaps trying a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, in
civilian court with all of the rights afforded a U.S. citizen is a missed “opportunity
to obtain about a dozen years’ worth of intelligence from Osama bin Laden’s
son-in-law to gain valuable information about other potential attacks against Americans.”[2]
This is what Goodlatte said in his statement regarding
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith’s trial in a federal court in New York:
“The capture of Abu Ghaith is another example of our
intelligence community’s unwavering commitment to find and capture foreign
enemies of the United States. But the Obama administration should not
rush to try al-Qaeda’s former spokesman in a civilian court where he is
afforded the full rights of a U.S. citizen.”[3]
But maybe the U.S. should reevaluate its policy of throwing
suspected and convicted terrorists into the dark hole known as Guantanamo Bay
where much of the world can only guess what actually goes on inside.
Maybe, just maybe, it is powerfully negative U.S. symbols
like Guantanamo Bay which fuel the anger, the hate, and the outrage of
terrorists and would be terrorists across the globe.
Some will argue, like Goodlatte argues, that places like
Guantanamo Bay save American lives. But how many lives does it cost by its mere
presence? How many individuals become terrorists and kill Americans due to the
very existence of Guantanamo Bay?
Furthermore, is this the kind of justice that America wishes
to convey to the rest of the world and is it a form of strength or a sign of
weakness? How many Guantanamo Bay’s could exist in the future for American
citizens, not just foreign enemies of the U.S.? As with any weapon, it could eventually
be used against its owner in highly unanticipated ways. Especially when one
considers the fear of government that certain members of congress continually
espouse, it is surprising that they would trust the government with such a nefarious
and nontransparent institution.
The bottom line is that through fear and a shedding of the
principles and values which make our country so great, those who have fought
and/or died for these principles and these values will have died in vain. That
is, terrorists against the U.S. will have truly won.
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