The Senate held hearings today discussing the enemy combatants being held in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. With a lot of grandstanding and, of course, one Nazi reference by Sen. Durbin of Illinois (see Rick Moran's takedown of Sen. Durbin), the debate was hardly moved forward. The administration contends that these are prisoners, but not Geneva Convention style Prisoners of War. They fight for no nation. They target civilians. They wear no uniform. They hide in the populace, putting them in danger. They force innocents to perform their suicide bombings. These are bad people. The administration insists they can be held indefinitely, certainly as long as the 'insurgents' continue their terror against Iraqis and Afghanis and their attacks against American forces.
The Democrats would like you to believe that they're common criminals, entitled to all of the Constitutional protections afforded American citizens who find themselves in trouble with the law. They would like Guantanamo closed and the prisoners ... released? If not released, then I don't know what. Those who call for closing Gitmo haven't said. They may want long, expensive criminal trials that would put sources and intelligence and the war on terror at risk by exposing information we've been able to obtain to wide scrutiny.
Detaining terrorism suspects "serves the vital military objectives of preventing captured combatants from rejoining the conflict, and gathering intelligence to further the overall war effort, and to prevent additional attacks against our country," said Michael Wiggins, a deputy associate attorney general.
Still, he acknowledged, "Such detention is not for criminal justice purposes and is not part of our nation's criminal justice system."
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the Judiciary Committee's senior Democrat, called the detention center "an international embarrassment to our nation, to our ideals and it remains a festering threat to our security." He added: "This policy on detainees is clearly not working."
Both Republicans and Democrats pressed witnesses on the pace of prosecutions.
Actually, if you look at what Mr. Wiggins said, Sen. Leahy, it's working fine. The prisoners are not rejoining the conflict, we're getting information, and we haven't had further attacks. How is it not working? Oh, I see, you want formal trials.
In the movie Casablanca (I know, another movie reference - sorry) Major Strasser of the Third Reich and Captain Renault meet with Victor Laszlo and Ilsa Lund in Renault's office. After a conversation that establishes that Major Strasser intends to see to it that Laszlo and Lund stay in Casablanca, unable to obtain exit visas, Captain Renault mentions Signor Ugarte (Peter Lorre) to Laszlo, seemingly offhand.
Renault: By the way, Monseiur, last night you evinced an interest in Signor Ugarte
Laszlo: Yes
Renault: I believe you have a message for him?
Laszlo: Nothing Important, but may I speak to him now?
Strasser: You would find the conversation a trifle one-sided. Signor Ugarte is dead.
Ilsa: Oh.
Renault: (holding a report) I haven't quite decided whether he committed suicide or died trying to escape.
So Senators Kennedy, Leahy and Durbin believe Guantanamo should be closed down as a prisoner camp for terrorists. Do they have a suggestion as to what should replace Gitmo? No, not really. Formal criminal trials? Movement to federal prisons on the mainland? Employment at McDonald's?
Maybe Casablanca has the answer. Perhaps these sensitive senators, who can't countenance a prisoner camp like Gitmo would prefer it if our special forces, upon encountering a nest of terrorists, would perform traditional field justice for these non-uniformed combatants. Maybe Major Renault's report should say "died trying to escape." Maybe this is where Senator Kennedy is trying to get us to go. Well, I stand corrected. I didn't think he had it in him.
UPDATE: Paul at Wizbang carves Sen. Durbin's Nazi allusion into unrecognizable shreds. But, that may have been too easy, like shooting fish in a barrel.
UPDATE: NRO's The Corner notes that Senators Leahy, Durbin and Kennedy couldn't be bothered to check it out before pontificating.
UPDATE: Dick Durbin gets another spanking at The Jawa Report.
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