Tuesday, April 23, 2013
An American alleged terrorist
I am relieved there was no delay, no waffling about charging Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a civilian & a United States citizen & subjecting him to civilian justice. Many "conservatives" (who ought to know better but rarely do) wanted him tried as an "enemy combatant" in military court. The dangers of doing that are chilling, the very thing right wing Second Amendment purists would seem to be warning us against. You want martial law? Just start funneling civilians into military courts, with their lack of transparency.
Beyond that, I don't want Dzhokhar Tsarnaev given an "out" as an American citizen. As an "enemy combatant" he becomes an "other," an "outsider," not one of us & could justify his actions on that basis. He still can, but he will face the consequences as an American, as unrepentant killers Timothy McVeigh & Eric Rudolph did. Dzhokhar by accounts of his acquaintances is very much an American. He was nine years old when he came here. America raised him from there. There doesn't seem at this early stage of the investigation to be any camouflage involved until, possibly, a few weeks or months before the bombings. If Dzhokhar is guilty, he is guilty as an American, as one of us, which is far worse a thing than being an "enemy combatant."
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Beyond that, I don't want Dzhokhar Tsarnaev given an "out" as an American citizen. As an "enemy combatant" he becomes an "other," an "outsider," not one of us & could justify his actions on that basis. He still can, but he will face the consequences as an American, as unrepentant killers Timothy McVeigh & Eric Rudolph did. Dzhokhar by accounts of his acquaintances is very much an American. He was nine years old when he came here. America raised him from there. There doesn't seem at this early stage of the investigation to be any camouflage involved until, possibly, a few weeks or months before the bombings. If Dzhokhar is guilty, he is guilty as an American, as one of us, which is far worse a thing than being an "enemy combatant."
Labels: in the news
