Thursday-Friday talk radio update
On KBLG, Aaron Flint was pushing the notion that the Fort Hood shooter was a coward. Sort of pointless to even argue about, I suppose, but coward seems like a pretty useless term to apply in this situation. If he was a coward for wanting to avoid service in a war zone, there are easier (and more cowardly) ways to get out of it. If he was taking orders from his terrorist overlords, then he was a bad man but no coward. If he was just freaking crazy, then cowardice has nothing to do with it.
It was interesting to hear some callers say the shooter was guilty of treason. This term has been so badly abused by so many bad people that I sort of reflexively dismiss it out of hand. But, of course, treason actually does apply in this case. But that’s probably not a good enough reason to pursue treason as a legal matter, unless it is possible to implicate others. Once you’ve got 13 counts of premeditated murder against you, treason is just piling on. And you would think that Al Qaida would have bigger plans for a military officer it succeeded in recruiting than one shootout. But who knows?
On Friday, the gasbags were uniformly outraged at the Obama administration’s plans to try suspected terrorists on U.S. soil. Imagine: They are afraid to try criminal suspects under U.S. law in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. Talk about cowards.
November 16th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Dave,
Glad you’re able to listen in- will have to have you on the show sometime. I wouldn’t necessarily argue he’s a coward because he didn’t want to deploy overseas- if he had religious concerns as a Muslim for not wanting to go over there- that’s one thing- and the military should take that into account. What makes him a coward is that he purposely walked into a building with unarmed victims and began shooting. My broader point was that this Major Hasan doesn’t even know what is actually happening in Afghanistan. That’s why I played a clip from a Muslim American (who spent 16 years and was born in Afghanistan) who served as an interpreter on our outpost. He says he has never been more proud to be an American than when he has seen serving alongside American soldiers. Maybe Major Hasan should talk to fellow Muslim Americans who have actually been there.
The broader point is that going after unarmed victims does make him a coward. If he really had objections to the war- he could have showed more courage: stand up, resign your military commission, and express your opposition to the war. Instead- he stayed in the service, specifically sought out terrorist organizations to partner with- and then took his wrath on victims unable to defend themselves- for that he is a ccoward.
November 17th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
The Left has used the cowards line a lot lately, even though a new CNN poll shows that two-thirds of Americans think it is a mistake to try these guys in a civilian court in NYC. So do you believe that two-thirds of Americans are cowards?
Or are they just people who have legitimate questions about the wisdom of this move? Like why are terrorists getting the constitutional protections of U.S. citizens? These guys will get to confront their accusers, ask for changes of venues, complain that they weren’t told about their Miranda rights, and so on.
So what if their attorneys are clever and some of these guys are acquitted? Will they be released? I’ve heard a number of administration officials like Eric Holder, as well as administration allies, say something like, “Don’t worry. If any of these guys are released, they’ll be quickly rearrested and put back in jail.”
So essentially this is a show trial, not a real exercise of justice. These defendants will be in jail forever no matter what happens because, politically, the Obama administration knows they can’t allow these guys to go free. The chief argument for trying these guys in a civilian court seems to be showing the world that we believe in the “rule of law.” But then the administration assures everyone that these guys won’t go free – an assurance that people around the world are certainly aware of.
Isn’t there something wrong with this picture?
Maybe the cowards are the Obama administration officials – with an eye on the polls — who are assuring Americans that they won’t be releasing any of the bad guys even if the courts order them to do so.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:31 am
David, you’re deliberately blurring the lines –
These terrorists are not US Citizens, and they have no rights here.
It’s purely political.
November 18th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
So, guys, since when does the Constitution limit the right of a fair trial to U.S. citizens? The obligation to give those suspected of crimes a fair trial is an obligation the Constitution imposes on the government, not a right that it grants to citizens and citizens only.