Friday, July 14, 2006
Crime and Punishment?
A few days ago I saw an interview on television. The interviewer was speaking with Senators Durbin of Illinois and Cornyn of Texas. The topic was the treatment and the trial of the prisoners being held at Guantanamo. The recent Supreme Court decision in the Hamdan case was pleasing to Senator Durbin and displeasing to Senator Cornyn. Senator Durbin rejoiced that the traditional American rule of law and due process was to be applied to the Guantanamo detainees. Senator Cornyn groused that we should apply the Geneva Convention and other legal benefits to a group of terrorists who represented no country, had not agreed to abide by the rules of war, and were therefore not entitled to any of the privileges normally given to prisoners of war, to say nothing of common criminals. By implication, the basic concept of presumption of innocence should not apply to terrorists.
I am thinking of the American reaction to the events of September 11, 2001 and also to the reaction of the Israeli government to the recent kidnapping of one soldier by Hamas and two by Hezbollah. Both countries reacted out of rage and an intense desire for revenge rather than a desire to prevent such occurrences in the future. Al Qaeda destroyed the twin towers in New York and damaged the Pentagon in Virginia. Along with the destruction, Al Qaeda killed nearly three thousand innocent civilians. We are very angry at Al Qaeda. Whenever we capture an individual who we think is part of or is sympathetic to that organization, we, through our agents in the CIA or the Military forces vent our anger on that individual. At least that seems to be the policy of the Bush Administration. In our unreasoning anger, we do not stop to question whether the individual is really an Al Qaeda member or sympathizer. Perhaps he has been taken prisoner by mistake. No matter, he is a scape-goat. If he’s not Al Qaeda, he’s at least Muslim and they’re almost as bad.
I don’t want you who read this screed to think that I have any sympathy for terrorists. I hate and fear Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations. I think that terror is a cowardly way to achieve an end, even such a desirable end as political freedom and liberty from oppressive governments. However, I classify terrorists as criminals. Many criminals use intimidation, threats, and torture to gain their ends. Their ends usually involve money rather than any political benefit. No matter, they’re all criminals and should be treated accordingly. When we capture a suspected criminal, we first make sure, if we can, that we haven’t made a mistake. Then we charge him and subject him to a trial. In the trial the suspected criminal has a chance to prove his innocence or to introduce mitigating information to influence the severity of the sentence. If we believe in our legal system, we must treat suspected terrorists the same way that we treat other criminals. We must not vent our anger and frustration on persons merely suspected or accused of terror.
I am thinking of the American reaction to the events of September 11, 2001 and also to the reaction of the Israeli government to the recent kidnapping of one soldier by Hamas and two by Hezbollah. Both countries reacted out of rage and an intense desire for revenge rather than a desire to prevent such occurrences in the future. Al Qaeda destroyed the twin towers in New York and damaged the Pentagon in Virginia. Along with the destruction, Al Qaeda killed nearly three thousand innocent civilians. We are very angry at Al Qaeda. Whenever we capture an individual who we think is part of or is sympathetic to that organization, we, through our agents in the CIA or the Military forces vent our anger on that individual. At least that seems to be the policy of the Bush Administration. In our unreasoning anger, we do not stop to question whether the individual is really an Al Qaeda member or sympathizer. Perhaps he has been taken prisoner by mistake. No matter, he is a scape-goat. If he’s not Al Qaeda, he’s at least Muslim and they’re almost as bad.
I don’t want you who read this screed to think that I have any sympathy for terrorists. I hate and fear Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations. I think that terror is a cowardly way to achieve an end, even such a desirable end as political freedom and liberty from oppressive governments. However, I classify terrorists as criminals. Many criminals use intimidation, threats, and torture to gain their ends. Their ends usually involve money rather than any political benefit. No matter, they’re all criminals and should be treated accordingly. When we capture a suspected criminal, we first make sure, if we can, that we haven’t made a mistake. Then we charge him and subject him to a trial. In the trial the suspected criminal has a chance to prove his innocence or to introduce mitigating information to influence the severity of the sentence. If we believe in our legal system, we must treat suspected terrorists the same way that we treat other criminals. We must not vent our anger and frustration on persons merely suspected or accused of terror.
