That Was Then…Ths Is Now

Fox News reported on Tuesday that a Somali member of an Al Qaeda-linked group was captured and held on the USS Boxer of the coast of Africa while he was interrogated.

The article reports:

“Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, in his mid-twenties, was interrogated “extensively” and for “some time” by military personnel and he provided useful intelligence, according to one source.  He was advised of his Miranda rights at the time, according to an administration official, but U. S. law enforcement were ultimately able to interview him, and he continued to offer useful information, according to administration officials.”

A federal grand jury in New York State has indicted him, and he is expected to be tried there in a civilian trial (given all the rights of an American citizen)

The Washington Times posted an editorial on this story yesterday, commenting:

“The Warsame indictment is an end run around Congress, which last year voted to bar the transfer of terrorist detainees to the United States for trial or any other purpose. The 2011 National Defense Authorization Act stipulated that no Department of Defense funds “may be used to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions” any detainee who “is not a United States citizen or a member of the Armed Forces of the United States” and was held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In his Jan. 7 signing statement, Mr. Obama called the restrictions “a dangerous and unprecedented challenge to critical executive branch authority to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo detainees, based on the facts and the circumstances of each case and our national security interests” and maintained that the “prosecution of terrorists in Federal court is a powerful tool in our efforts to protect the Nation and must be among the options available to us.” He pledged that his administration would “work with the Congress to seek repeal of these restrictions” and “seek to mitigate their effects.””

Just for some perspective, this is how we handled this sort of thing in World War II:

“During World War II, eight Germans landed on our shores in 1942 bent on sabotage. Caught before they could carry out their missions, under FDR’s presidential proclamation they were hauled before a secret military tribunal and found guilty. Meeting in an emergency session, the Supreme Court upheld the tribunal’s authority. Justice was swift: six of the men were put to death–a sentence much more harsh than would have been allowed in a civil trial.”

The above quote is from a book review by the University Press of Kansas of Louis Fisher’s book NAZI SABOTEURS ON TRIAL.  Even though Mr. Fisher wrote the book to express his opinion that what was done in that case was wrong, the fact remains that the saboteurs were dealt with quickly and effectively.

We are at war.  There are people in the world who would like to destroy American freedom and our way of life.  We can do what is necessary to protect and preserve our freedom or we can become the laughing stock of the world because we protect the people who have stated they want to destroy us.  As Americans, we make that decision.  Our elections need to reflect what we believe regarding terrorism and the safety of America.  I’m not sure our current elected officials understand the need to protect our country.