Extradition Indecision - Obamic Options 005
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John Hinderaker adds a chilling but disturbingly plausible appendix to the end of a Power Line post by Scott “Big Johnson” Trunk. The post examines the likely effects of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile terrorists in civilian court; at the end, Scott wonders why President Barack H. Obama is so determined to try some terrorists in federal court, while others are tried in military commissions. John’s addendum follows:
On our radio show yesterday, Andy McCarthy proposed an explanation that amplifies on Scott’s last paragraph. He suggested that the Obama administration views KSM et al. as its allies (my paraphrase) in its war against the Bush administration. Obama expects them to make their treatment by the Bush administration, real and imagined, the centerpiece of their defense, with the possible result that Bush, Cheney, and others may be indicted as war criminals by European countries or international courts, thereby satisfying the far left of the Democratic Party, which Obama represents.
This leads me to another Obamic Option question (the fifth):
Assume for sake of argument that some court in Madrid, let’s say — one that declares it has “universal jurisdiction” — watches the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City, then decides to indict George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Douglas Feith, Alberto Gonzales, Jay Bybee, John Yoo, and of course Karl Rove for “war-crimes” supposedly committed against KSM and other terrorist detainees.
The question is this: Would President Obama agree to extradite all or some of these defendants to Spain for trial? How would the American people react to such an unprecedented decision by the American president?
Our previous Obamic Options offerings were:
- Obamic Options 001
- Obamic Options 002: The Limits of Tolerance of Pinkos
- Another Noble Obamic Musing - Obamic Options 003
- Could He Ever Bring Himself to Say It? Obamic Options 004
