4/16/10 

Last night, Attorney General Eric Holder defended the use of civilian trials as an effective tool in combating terrorism, saying that a proposal to eliminate them "would seriously harm our national security." This echoed his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week.  Holder is supported by a broad consensus among national security experts from across the political spectrum that civilian trials are in fact a valuable and effective tool in combating terrorism.  Yet, despite this consensus from experts, conservative critics continue to disregard their utility and seek to eliminate the option of civilian trials, using fear mongering tactics to politicize national security.  Maintaining the option for civilian trials and bringing terrorists to justice is an essential part of a broader counterterrorism framework that has proven effective, and eliminating this tool comes at the expense of America's national security.

National security experts agree that civilian trials are an important tool in combating terrorism. Last night Eric Holder said, "The proposal by some respected leaders in Congress to ban completely the use of civilian courts in prosecutions of terrorism-related activity obscures some basic facts and allows campaign slogans to overtake legal reality... There's no question that if such a plan advances, it would seriously harm our national security." Such support has also been echoed by numerous national security experts, who agree that civilian trials are an important and effective resource for fighting terrorism.

General Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Bush administration Secretary of State, came out strongly for the use of civilian trials in combating terrorism: "The issue about sending people to military commissions, we-- we're not using military commissions like we should. Any time you lock somebody up or you catch a terrorist let's give them the military commission. In eight years the military commissions have put three people on trial. Two of them served relatively short sentences and are free. One guy is in jail. Meanwhile, the federal courts, our Article III, regular legal court system, has put dozens of terrorists in jail and they're fully capable of doing it. So the suggestion that somehow a military commission is the way to go isn't bo-- born out by the history of the military commissions." [Colin Powell, Face the Nation, 2/21/10]

Ali Soufan, the former FBI terrorism interrogator "As someone who has helped prosecute terrorists in both civilian and military courts ...  I think that civilian courts are often the more effective venue... Of the three terrorists tried under military commissions since 9/11, two are now free... In contrast, almost 200 terrorists have been convicted in federal courts since 9/11... The federal court system has proved well equipped to handle these trials. It has been the venue for international terrorism cases since President Ronald Reagan authorized them in the 1980s, and for other terrorist cases long before that." [Ali Soufan, NY Times, 2/11/10]

Bush Administration Attorney General John Ashcroft "In an interview with the Huffington Post at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the former Bush administration official said that there are ‘a variety of tools that ought to be available to an administration' in its efforts to curb terrorism and bring terrorists to justice.  Asked specifically about holding civilian trials for terrorists, he said such a venue ‘has use and utility.'" [Huffington Post, 2/19/10]

A bipartisan group of national security and military experts said statement that, "America's well established system of civilian justice is not just well equipped to handle these cases, it is far better suited to the task of discrediting and defeating the terrorist enemy we face."[Constitution Project, 11/9/09]

[Eric Holder via Washington Post, 4/16/10]

Conservative fear mongering politicizes national security.  From a conservative political memo that "encouraged [conservatives] to criticize the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats on a host of national security issues," to the video from Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol calling Justice Department attorneys who defended Guantanamo Bay detainees the "al Qaeda seven" and implying that they were complicit in terrorism, conservatives have continually employed fear mongering tactics and politicized national security.

During the hearing this week, Sen. Jeff Sessions continued with the fear mongering raising the idea that a civilian trial meant that Osama bin Laden, were he captured, would have to be read his Miranda rights.  Holder quickly shot down this assertion as the fear mongering propaganda that it is.  The New York Times describes his response, "Mr. Holder said that in the ‘unlikely' event that Mr. bin Laden was captured alive, it would not be necessary to read him his rights. Such warnings, he said, are necessary only when prosecutors intend to use a prisoner's statements in custody as evidence in court - a step that would not be necessary with Mr. bin Laden because there is already ample evidence to convict him in the 2001 attacks."  As Vince Warren, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said "If the U.S. is ever going to regain credibility in the world, the administration can't let itself be bullied by fear mongers with their eyes on midterm elections rather than the law."  As Secretary of Defense Gates said about the conservative criticism of the Administration's counterterrorism approach, "[t]he truth is, there's a lot of fear-mongering about this."  [Roll Call, 2/16/10. Liz Cheney via Keep America Safe, 1/6/10. Washington Independent, 4/14/10. NY Times, 4/14/10. Secretary Gates, 5/22/09]

Bringing terrorists to justice is just one component of Obama administration's larger counterterrorism strategy, which has yielded important successes. Decisions taken by President Obama as part of the broader U.S. counterterrorism strategy have led to key achievements.

Gaining actionable intelligence without using torture. One way in which the Obama administration has upheld America's values in the fight against terrorists is by ending the practice of torture.  The actionable intelligence gleaned from Najibullah Zazi's cooperation without using torture vindicates this approach. As the New York Daily News reported this week, a fourth man involved in Zazi's plot to attack the U.S. was arrested in Pakistan.  "The unidentified man, who helped plan the plot, is expected to be extradited to the U.S. to be tried in Brooklyn Federal Court with Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay of Flushing, Queens, sources said," according to the Daily News.  The Daily News' report went on to cite how "The cooperation of would-be lead bomber Najibullah Zazi has helped law enforcement officials piece together a fuller picture of the evil plan to kill innocent straphangers around the 9/11 anniversary last year." [New York Daily News, 4/12/10]

Building partnerships and working with allies to thwart terrorism.  A recent report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee states the importance of working with partners around the world: "U.S. government cooperation with foreign partners must be redoubled across the counterterrorism spectrum: Information-sharing, counterterrorism and law enforcement training, and border control are all areas where allies will benefit from cooperation. Foreign partners are often the first line of defense."  The Obama administration's revamped effort to work with allies has proven fruitful, most notably at the Nuclear Security Summit this week, which garnered significant commitments from such countries as Pakistan, Ukraine, Chile, India and Russia to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism. [SFRC, 1/20/10. NSN Daily Update, 4/14/10]

Enhancing efforts to disrupt domestic plots.  Last year, the administration foiled a terrorism plan by Najibullah Zazi, in a case the New York Times called "the most serious in years." [NY Times, 9/24/09]

Combining judicial and intelligence work to take the fight to extremists. As the Washington Times reported earlier this in February, "U.S. and allied counterterrorism authorities have launched a global manhunt for English-speaking terrorists trained in Yemen who are planning attacks on the United States, based on intelligence provided by the suspect in the attempted Christmas Day bombing after he began cooperating." [Washington Times, 2/15/10]

What We're Reading

In a rare legal action against a government employee accused of leaking secrets, a grand jury has indicted a former senior National Security Agency official on charges of providing classified information to a newspaper reporter in hundreds of e-mail messages in 2006 and 2007.

A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano caused further air travel chaos across Europe on a scale not seen since the September 11 attacks, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.

Bribery and corruption cost the Greek government up to eight percent of the country's GDP per year, adding up to roughly $27 billion in lost revenue that could used to shore up the country's public finances.

The Gaza Strip's Hamas-led government executed two Palestinians convicted of aiding Israel in the assassination of Palestinian militants, a move that highlighted the deep divisions that endure between the two main Palestinian political factions.

A UN commission has found the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani leader, could have been prevented and says Pakistani officials failed to properly investigate her murder.

It seems one problem affecting the notoriously incompetent Afghan police-on whom the U.S. has spent $6 billion-is the sights on their AK-47 rifles were never adjusted.

A dispute involving the Jamaican government's alleged hiring of a blue-chip DC lobbying firm to fight the extradition of a Kingston drug kingpin is rocking Jamaican politics.

The deposed president of Kyrgyzstan resigned and left the country for neighboring Kazakhstan under an agreement brokered by Russia, regional leaders and the Obama administration.

Yemeni Shi'ite rebels opened fire on a military plane flying above the flashpoint city of Saada, in one of the most serious breaches yet of a truce to end a northern war.

After five days of elections in Sudan, the vote counting has begun.

Commentary of the Day

Joshua Landis says that instead of worrying about Syria getting Scud missiles, the U.S. should worry about a larger peace deal.

Malcolm Beith explores why Mexican drug cartels aren't considered terrorist groups by the American government.

Serbian President Boris Tadic explains his country's decision to apologize for the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica.