Who’s Afraid Of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed?

[babylonsister]

http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2009/11/14/whos-afraid-of-khalid-shaikh-mohammed/

Who’s Afraid Of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed?
By: Spencer Ackerman Saturday November 14, 2009 7:11 pm


Via Amanda Terkel, Sarah Palin objected to the forthcoming KSM trial thusly:

The trial will afford Mohammed the opportunity to grandstand and make use of his time in front of the world media to rally his disgusting terrorist cohorts. It will also be an insult to the victims of 9/11, as Mohammed will no doubt use the opportunity to spew his hateful rhetoric in the same neighborhood in which he ruthlessly cut down the lives of so many Americans.

What’s an actual insult to the victims of 9/11 is the idea that America is not strong enough to withstand the blatherings of a mass murderer. For me, the prospect of KSM grandstanding at his trial falls into I-wish-a-motherfucker-would territory. I want to hear how KSM builds a case against America, because everyone will hear how laughably conspiratorial and clownish it is. Think of what a cathartic moment it will be when America sees the face of the man considered to be UBL’s most efficient henchman and he delivers a pitiful harangue to a bank of cameras. No one will be emboldened to do anything but laugh. The only downside will be his inevitable discussion of how CIA operatives tortured him.

My hope for the KSM trial is that it does more than all this. It should forever shatter the pernicious myth that al-Qaeda is composed of supermen — supermen against whom America has no choice but to alter its character and most precious laws in order to confront. I suspect we’ll have an Eichmann-in-Jerusalem moment — and sorry for the unfortunate Nazi/al-Qaeda analogy; al-Qaeda are not the Nazis; but I couldn’t really think of any other parallel — except instead of the banality of evil, we’ll see the lunacy and vanity and self-absorption of it. That’s because al-Qaeda’s weltanshauung depends on a myth that holds America to be implacably determined to snuff out the glory of Islam. In reality, most Americans couldn’t give a fuck about Islam and only started to know the first thing about it because of 9/11. But that America — an America bearing no resemblance to the actual America — will be what KSM seeks to counter-indict. It’s farcical, and farcical in ways that can only benefit the real America.

This is what Sarah Palin is afraid of. She hasn’t, I think it’s safe to say, thought it through. Glenn Greenwald, in a post that surpasses his usual high standards, diagnoses her very well: she’s given in to terrorism.

[tavalon]

1. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzales, to name a few

It's said that some people fear a trial because it could implicate the Bush administration.

[stray cat]

2. For most mass murderers its easy to not be afraid when they are locked up

fear makes more sense if they are free, armed and set on killing you.

[Turbineguy]

3. She may not know this

but a defendant is not required to speak in his own defense.

[Me.]

4. Cameras? Who Says There'll Be Cameras Allowed In The Courtroom?

As for the Republiweenies, they're all a bunch of scairdy cats.

[SoCalDem]

7. and judges can slap on a gag order on media & lawyers if they want to

people are making a huge deal out if this, when no one said much of anything for EIGHT YEARS, as nothing much happened with those tribunals..

It was all just a scam, so these people could just be warehoused in Cuba..Out of sight-out of mind. The plan all along was to leave this mess for the next president to clean up

[Me.]

10. Cameras In NY Court Room Are Rare

The ban on them has loosened up however, a lot of judges still don't allow them and I'm willing to bet that they won't be allowed in for this trial any more than they were for that terrorist Scooter Libby, despite the difference in venues

[MadMaddie]

5. I had this conversation with my Dog walking Repug friend this

morning, she is upset that we are going to prosecute them in New York. She said it was in insult to New Yorkers, so I kindly explained that we prosecuted 122 other terrorist types and they were all found guilty. She then said she thinks the prosecuting DOJ attorney is doing it to get recognition and I patiently said ummm that's his/her job to prosecute these guys.

I then gave her an analogy, I said think about the gangs in America the more victims give lip service to the gangs the more powerful the gangs become, the victims themselves are putting the criminals on a pedestal and making them out to be more powerful and smarter than they really are. I said that is what is happening to these terrorist, Americans are putting them on this pedestal and enforcing the belief that these guys are so powerful and so frightening that America should be afraid to prosecute them.

I finally added just like the gangs all over the country the terrorist (thugs) must be crushed. We don't have to be afraid every waking hour of them because in the end they are thugs and criminals who should be sitting in jails and cut off from their martyrdom.

Man it's a lot of work to talk them down....

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Is this a trick question? Anybody who could benefit from the fear

for political reasons...

As well as those who potentially may be called to the damn stand... Paging Bush, Chenney, Yoo and the rest of the gang...

[Swede]

8. They sure got their talking points down.

every last one of them.

[HughMoran]

9. Don't you know that these terraists have special super powers?

Republicans are cowards who have no faith in their own country. Patriots? I think not...