U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged the Administration to reverse their decision to try the foreign 9-11 terrorists in civilian courts blocks from Ground Zero in New York City instead of using the appropriate military commission process. Speaking on the Senate floor, Bond stressed the dangers of the Administration’s decision to treat foreign terrorists as common criminals and the impact of reverting back to this pre-9-11 mindset.
Senator Bond on the Treatment of 9/11 Attacks as Crimes, Versus Acts of War:
“Earlier this year, the Homeland Security Secretary signaled an alarming change of perspective about the nature of the enemy we face. No longer would we call these acts of terrorism what they really are—acts of war. Instead, according to Secretary Napolitano, the acceptable terminology for an attack such as 9/11 would now be a ‘man-caused disaster.’ Apparently, 9-11 was no different than a forest fire started by an arsonist.
“Whether it is called a man-caused disaster or extraordinary crime, refusing to treat the September 11th perpetrators as terrorists, deserving only of trial before a military commission, is a dangerous throwback to the pre-9-11 mentality that resulted in the attack on the USS Cole, the bombings of our embassies, and the first World Trade Center bombing.”
Senator Bond on America is Still at War:
“Make no mistake—America is still at war. The war on terror is real; it won’t just go away by calling it another name. We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand. While Khalid Sheikh Mohammed may ultimately be convicted, our success in this war on terror will only be final when we have hunted these terrorists into extinction.
“The Obama Administration is standing at a crossroad of history. It can either persist in downplaying the reality that we are at war with terrorists or it can reaffirm that its top priority is to keep Americans safe by winning this war on terror.
“But success in this war cannot simply be defined as getting a guilty verdict against KSM in a civilian federal court. If the Department of Justice jeopardizes our intelligence sources and methods, incurs unnecessary security risks, and creates a high-profile public platform for KSM to spew his hatred and espouse Hirabah, they will only increase the likelihood that these detainees will proselytize fellow inmates in federal prisons and convert followers worldwide. That is not success. That is failure of the worst kind: an avoidable failure.”
Domestic Terrorist Trials Have Aided the Enemy
“These are not the hypothetical gambles that some on the left have dismissed casually. As former Attorney General Michael Mukasey has stated, we know that domestic terror trials have exposed sensitive classified information and given intelligence to al Qaeda.”
“Public trials of these types of terrorism cases are a clear win for terrorists seeking to learn more about our intelligence sources and methods. Were there no alternative, we would proceed with this type of trial despite these risks because our nation values due process. However, the military commissions process, first approved by Congress in 2006 and again just last month, ensures a fair trial with rights to counsel, discovery, and appeal, but without the costs and risks of federal civilian trials.”
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U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged the Administration to reverse their decision to try the foreign 9-11 terrorists in civilian courts blocks from Ground Zero in New York City instead of using the appropriate military commission process. Speaking on the Senate floor, Bond stressed the dangers of the Administration’s decision to treat foreign terrorists as common criminals and the impact of reverting back to this pre-9-11 mindset.
Senator Bond on the Treatment of 9/11 Attacks as Crimes, Versus Acts of War:
“Earlier this year, the Homeland Security Secretary signaled an alarming change of perspective about the nature of the enemy we face. No longer would we call these acts of terrorism what they really are—acts of war. Instead, according to Secretary Napolitano, the acceptable terminology for an attack such as 9/11 would now be a ‘man-caused disaster.’ Apparently, 9-11 was no different than a forest fire started by an arsonist.
“Whether it is called a man-caused disaster or extraordinary crime, refusing to treat the September 11th perpetrators as terrorists, deserving only of trial before a military commission, is a dangerous throwback to the pre-9-11 mentality that resulted in the attack on the USS Cole, the bombings of our embassies, and the first World Trade Center bombing.”
Senator Bond on America is Still at War:
“Make no mistake—America is still at war. The war on terror is real; it won’t just go away by calling it another name. We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand. While Khalid Sheikh Mohammed may ultimately be convicted, our success in this war on terror will only be final when we have hunted these terrorists into extinction.
“The Obama Administration is standing at a crossroad of history. It can either persist in downplaying the reality that we are at war with terrorists or it can reaffirm that its top priority is to keep Americans safe by winning this war on terror.
“But success in this war cannot simply be defined as getting a guilty verdict against KSM in a civilian federal court. If the Department of Justice jeopardizes our intelligence sources and methods, incurs unnecessary security risks, and creates a high-profile public platform for KSM to spew his hatred and espouse Hirabah, they will only increase the likelihood that these detainees will proselytize fellow inmates in federal prisons and convert followers worldwide. That is not success. That is failure of the worst kind: an avoidable failure.”
Domestic Terrorist Trials Have Aided the Enemy
“These are not the hypothetical gambles that some on the left have dismissed casually. As former Attorney General Michael Mukasey has stated, we know that domestic terror trials have exposed sensitive classified information and given intelligence to al Qaeda.”
“Public trials of these types of terrorism cases are a clear win for terrorists seeking to learn more about our intelligence sources and methods. Were there no alternative, we would proceed with this type of trial despite these risks because our nation values due process. However, the military commissions process, first approved by Congress in 2006 and again just last month, ensures a fair trial with rights to counsel, discovery, and appeal, but without the costs and risks of federal civilian trials.”
