9/11, al Qaeda, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Deroy Murdock: Execute KSM and the 9/11 Killers; Give them what they want

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Deroy Murdock makes the point in the National Review Online that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four fellow 9/11 conspirators have attempted to plead guilty and requested execution.

This fiasco disgusts Americans. A February 1 Rasmussen survey discovered that only 16 percent of likely voters want terrorists to enjoy the same legal rights as U.S. citizens, while 74 percent disagree. Meanwhile, HumanEvents.com (which often posts my columns) has gathered 126,665 signatures on its online petition demanding KSM and company’s ejection from civilian court.

“These proceedings will make the O. J. Simpson trial look like a traffic-court hearing,” says Marc Thiessen, author of Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack , a new bestseller on the Obama administration’s soft-on-terror policies. “KSM disappeared from the international stage for seven years. Now he will make a dramatic return, and use the platform Obama is giving him to rally jihadist faithful to new attacks. Consequently, Americans could be killed.”

This entire escapade can be avoided quickly and cheaply. Guantanamo judges should let KSM and his conspirators plead guilty. And then, as would satisfy these mass murderers … [I won’t spoil the ending for you … READ THE REST]

When Attorney General Eric Holder was asked about this during his November 18, 2009 testimony, Holder tersely replied KSM does not get to decide. Why not accept Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s plea? Holder accepted al-Marri’s guilty plea. The DOJ’s newsletter touts guilty plea after guilty plea in major cases each week. Obama and Holder flatly stating KSM will be found guilty and sentenced gave al Qaeda a talking-point propaganda victory; so much for showcasing the fair and impartial justice of our federal courts.

At this point, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other four serve but one good purpose: as an example. We should accept their plea today and execute them next Tuesday at 9:11 a.m.

Abdulmutallab, Eric Holder, Flight 253, Military Commissions

No Miranda warnings needed: Sen Risch tutors DNI Blair and FBI Dir Mueller

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Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) provided a tutorial on why Miranda warnings did not ever need to be provided to Flight 253 bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab. It took place on February 3, 2010, during testimony by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and FBI Director Robert Mueller before the Senate Intelligence Committee:

Attorney General Eric Holder decided on Christmas Day to direct that Abdulmuttalab be read his rights. By doing so, he prevented the immediate gathering of further intelligence because Abdulmuttalab elected to remain silent and speak to a lawyer before answering further.

Not reading him Miranda warnings would not have effected the ability to convict Abdulmuttalab or prevented a sentence of life in prison. Yet that intelligence might not have been available for use as evidence in the federal prosecution of others involved, thus forcing their prosecution by Military Commission. The war paradigm — the imminent risk of possible attacks by Abdulmuttalab’s associates — should have taken priority. Instead, AG Holder placed a higher priority on his preferred legal option to prosecute those involved in federal court.