Sultan Knish - Are We At War or Aren't We?

Sultan Knish

By banning any talk of a "War on Terror" and bringing through a civilian criminal trial for the mastermind of 9/11, Obama and his fellow liberals are doing their best to whitewash Al Queda as nothing more than common criminals. This refusal to accept that Al Queda has made war on America, rather than carried out a few lone attacks which we should all get over with, has been at the heart of the Clinton Administration's misguided approach to terrorism, as well as the ongoing liberal furor over Bush treating Al Queda as an enemy, rather than a bunch of hoodlums who need to be put on the usual legal treadmill to nowhere.

There is little doubt that despite the forthcoming antics from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's lawyers and the usual circus that takes place when terrorists and their lawyers get to put on a show, Mohammed will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. At least unless he ends up being traded for a few American hostages, which considering that Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom all freed major terrorists in exchange for hostages or financial incentives is not outside the realm of possibility. The difference is in how we define what is happening in the world around us. The question is, are we at war or aren't we?

After WW2 the decision was made by the allies to try key Nazi officials in a military setting. They were not routed into civilian criminal courts. They were not sent to New York Federal court to await trial. Similarly the German saboteurs brought here on a submarine were rapidly routed to a military tribunal and executed in short order. The only real difference between Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and top Nazi officials is time. Had Al Queda been able to take over Pakistan or Saudi Arabia or Iraq, would we have been able to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed before a military tribunal then?

The absurdity of the whole thing is obvious, as liberals propose to take Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a man who is not an American citizen or resident alien and route him into a US criminal court system for attacks that both he and the US government at the time considered acts of war.