Issues
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Terrorist Trials I strongly oppose transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay detention camp to the United States for criminal prosecution. Our federal criminal system is not designed to prosecute international terrorists. Although it is true that we successfully prosecuted Zacarias Moussaoui, the allegations in the Moussaoui case were based on his actions in the United States. The United States has never successfully prosecuted an international terrorist in federal court and most legal scholars argue that it would be very difficult to do. Meanwhile, we have created a constitutional process whereby detainees can be tried by military commissions. These commissions afford defendants rights that are analogous to those of criminal defendants; they are efficient, safe and they have been successful. Oddly enough, the Obama Administration has announced that it intends to prosecute several detainees who are 9/11 suspects and that the remaining detainees who cannot be transferred to other countries will be transferred to a new detention facility somewhere in the United States. |