You don't have to be a mind reader to figure out the propaganda strategy of September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four other terrorists who were arraigned Saturday in a 13-hour spectacle in Guantanamo Bay. The idea is to use the open military trial to promote jihad and discredit American institutions, including the military system of justice.
The point to keep in mind is that this would have happened no matter the trial venue, civilian or military. The critics who have never liked military tribunals and accused them of being a form of railroad justice are now blaming them for being so unruly that they give terrorists a chance to act out. Well, which is it?
The real fault lies with the terrorists, who hope to put American justice on trial instead of themselves.
No. With all due respect, it is not the fault of the terrorists that the trial is becoming a platform to condemn America. Oh, the 9/11 attacks are their fault, of course. But letting these trials be an opportunity to attack America is all our fault.
The problem is, too many in America are still asking "why do they (the terrorists) hate us?" Too many Americans believe defending ourselves against jihadi terrorism is the real crime. And too many of those Americans now run our government and think nothing that happened before January 2009 is any of their business, really.
I'm not so much worried that our government thinks the war on terror is over because we killed Osama bin Laden and dumped his body in the sea. I'm worried that they never really believed we were at war with terrorists in the first place and think that deep down we got what we deserved on September 11, 2001.
If America is on trial, Eric Holder has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the terrorists who are the formal defendants. It doesn't have to be this way unless we go along with the terrorists.
