No one has the answer,
But one thing is true,
You’ve got to turn on evil,
When it’s coming after you.
— Neil Young, “Let’s Roll”
By Randall Grantham
Community Columnist
Wow! I haven’t gotten as much zealous feedback to a column since the one I wrote making fun of the Pope’s hats.
There are a lot of people who would like to save time and money by having all the accused 9/11 plotters line up one behind the other so we can kill them with a single high-powered bullet. I can’t say I disagree, but how we get to that point seems to be the sticking point.
Ronald from Land O’ Lakes thought it strange that I, as an attorney, “would leave out how many fellow lawyers would make a pile of money and the fact that if the military tribunal did the job no taxpayer money would be involved except the salaries they are already paid.”
When I responded that I honestly hadn’t thought of that and wished the accused would try to escape and get shot in the process, we took a step toward reconciliation.
He wrote: “I agree with you on that. ‘Course that would happen to them if they were convicted in a military tribunal. Why that jerk, Obama, and his flunky, the attorney general, gave them American rights is incomprehensible.
“After a tribunal found them guilty, the firing squad should send them to their virgins slowly, by starting the shots at their ankles and moving up slowly with each volley, so they can feel a very small bit of the pain the people felt in the twin towers. Doubt they would feel like martyrs when that was happening!”
He then goes on to point out the hypocrisy within the Saudi Palaces and that those in power mean to stay there at any cost, even using the Koran, or religion, as propaganda. At least he doesn’t seem to be too worried about the cost of ammunition.
The biggest point stressed by readers is that these people are war criminals. Mel wrote: “In regards to your article in this week’s Laker, I do not totally disagree with you. But in my opinion you totally missed the point. These men are prisoners of war and enemy combatants, and have no constitutional rights to be tried in civil court. They should be tried in a military tribunal. I am a World War II combat-wounded veteran, and was lucky not to have been a POW. For if Japan or Germany had won the war there were not have been any trials of POW’s in either country — only dead bodies.”
Even my own secretary took the time to write me a letter (from the desk outside my office door, and probably while on the clock) explaining that, in her opinion, and many others, these guys were war criminals, and deserved to be treated as such. And fellow lawyer Mark wrote, “I’m not too worked up about trying (them) in New York City, but I’m not a fan either. History points toward military tribunals and that would have been the route that would have been easy and proper.”
I responded with my thoughts that other war crimes were committed by legitimate states and during actual wars, and doesn’t giving these guys that status give them more credit than they deserve? They are mass murderers, but they represent no legitimate state or wannabe state.
Mark showed his pragmatic side.
“[They] wanted to bring down this nation, or at least start or accelerate the process. Looks enough like war for me to respond accordingly. If we’re wrong on that at least it’ll be cheaper and quicker. Procedures followed during war do expect that a lot of the mistakes made will favor the government. That’s what happens when you have to get serious about protecting your national interests versus dealing with run-of-the-mill criminal situations. Bottom line for me is that what we do to a foreigner we grabbed in a foreign land by way of military tribunal may offend our constitution, but it will not erode its protections for our own citizens. Whereas what happens in New York City has that disquieting potential.”
I can’t argue with that logic, Mark.
And responding to the whole brouhaha in a big picture way, Dave from Zephyrhills wrote: “What people are not thinking about is that the President has access to all of the evidence against these thugs and he is absolutely convinced of their guilt. Most people on the Right are not willing to give him air to breathe, certainly not the benefit of any doubt.
“I have never seen such hatred for a President. Yes, people hated Bush, but I never heard anything like you hear every day on a dozen local talk shows. They constantly bash Obama around the clock. It is very troubling to me. There are people out there that are on the brink of doing something stupid and they are encouraged by these idiots.”
Well, it seems like we’re all in agreement. Leave the cell door open one night and when one of the bastards tries to escape, let nature take its course.
Randall C. Grantham is a lifelong resident of Lutz who practices law from his offices on Dale Mabry Highway. He can be reached at . Copyright 2009 RCG
