Glenn Greenwald: The Right's textbook "surrender to terrorists"

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/11/14/terrorism#story_full_088ce4c705df876173d643cc0f3b65c7


Glenn Greenwald
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009 02:15 PST

The Right's textbook "surrender to terrorists"
"We're too scared to have real trials in our country" is a level of cowardice unmatched in the world.
By Glenn Greenwald


Understanding and Combatting Terrorism, USMC Major S.M. Grass, 1989:

Terrorism is a psychological weapon and is directed to create a general climate of fear. As one definition cogently notes, "terror is a natural phenomenon, terrorism is the conscious exploitation of it." Terrorism utilizes violence to coerce governments and their people by inducing fear.

William Josiger, Fear Factor: The Impact of Terrorism on Public Opinion in the United States and Great Britain, 2006:

At its heart terrorism is about fear. While terrorist attacks destroy, maim and kill, the intended audience for these attacks is almost always the whole body politic and the terrorist's goal is to strike fear into their hearts.

GOP House Leader John Boehner, condemning Obama's decision to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York for trial, yesterday:

The Obama Administration’s irresponsible decision to prosecute the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in New York City puts the interests of liberal special interest groups before the safety and security of the American people.

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. Then again, this is the same political movement whose "leaders" -- people like John Cornyn and Pat Roberts -- cowardly insisted that we must ignore the Constitution in order to stay alive: the exact antithesis of the core value on which the nation was founded. Given that, it's hardly surprising that they exude a level of fear of Terrorists that is unmatched virtually anywhere in the world. It is, however, noteworthy that the position they advocate -- it's too scary to have normal trials in our country of Terrorists -- is as pure a surrender to the Terrorists as it gets.

[rgbecker]

1. And then there's 5 deferment Darth Cheney. The original fear monger.

[Old Codger]

2. For all intents and purposes

I have stated before and see no reason to change that, the minute we allow our "normal" procedures, our "normal and usual" patterns of living, doing business to be suppressed and allow the subordination of our constitutionally mandated procedures laws and civil rights to be subordinated in the illusion of safety we have lost the battle, the terrorists have won. As far as I can see the GOP right wing has ceded the victory and has been sitting in their respective hidey holes since this so called war on terror has started.. I applaud the steps being taken by thei administration in this matter... a small step in the right direction..

[lunatica]

6. This is a typical Replublican hide-e-hole

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. David Brooks was disgusting on PBS Newshour last night. Holder called 911 a crime,

Brooks went ballistic and started the "it wasn't a crime - it was WAR" meme - to his credit, Mark Shields stood his ground and disagreed (distilling a somewhat lengthy discussion to a sentence...others may have a different view of how it went down)

[drm604]

4. In a way, they're colluding with the terrorists.

The point of terrorism is to instill fear in the public - fear of terrorists. The Republicans actively work towards that exact same goal.

[babylonsister]

8. My thought as well; the gop past and present uses terror tactics

whenever possible. They seem to enjoy instilling fear.

[drm604]

10. So are they guilty of treason then?

I'd hesitate to try to prosecute them for treason, due to first amendment considerations, but are they at least morally treasonous even if they're not doing it in a prosecutable manner?

[babylonsister]

13. If the definitions Greenwald presents us with are accurate, I'd say yes.

Morally, at the least.

[democracy1st]

5. K & R

[jmondine]

7. Not only is this spot on, it is one of the primary points we must make again and again

[Atman]

9. I wish Obama woud say this in one of his addresses.

:shrug:

.

[Bolo Boffin]

11. KSM has a lot more to fear from New York than New York has to fear from him.

I'm surprised that KSM's lawyers aren't seizing on statements like this to argue for a change of venue.

[drm604]

12. I'd say that they are not just surrendering. In a way, they're colluding.

Both the terrorists and the Republicans actively and intentionally work to instill fear of terrorists into the American public. And both groups do it for political reasons.

The only difference, and admittedly it's a large difference, is that the Republicans don't actively kill to reach that goal. They just wait for someone else to do it and then take advantage of it.