Well, the US gov't has just racked up a signal victory in it's all-encompassing effort in The Global War On Terror. 6 years, 2 wars, 4500+ dead servicepersons, political disarray at home, political disarray abroad, big deficits, the Patriot Act, impending war with Iran, etc...
One luckless patsy, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, has been convicted by a military tribunal of "material support for terrorism." [The govt failed to secure a conviction on a more serious charge of conspiracy to commit terrorism]. Hamdan's crime ; he was the driver and bodyguard of Osama Bin Laden.
Well, winning ugly is still winning, but ugly may not begin to cut it here. Yep, them Al Queda terror cells, sleeping, dozing, napping and fully awake alike, must be trembling at this. No doubt they'll figure out that the answer is to give up auto transport.
So, what else might the govt come up with along these imaginative lines to help justify it's effort and it's continued possession of these miserable fellows?
cobbling while Islamofasistic - Osama's sandalmaker ;
cooking while Islamofasistic - Osama's chef ;
bloggong while Islamofasistic - Osama's computer geek ;
flacking while Islamofasistic - Osama's PR guy [now this guy got a tough job] ;
spiritual mentoring while Islamofasistic - Osama's Iman
practicing medicine while Islamofasistic - Osama's physician
giving head while Islamofasistic - Osama's ATF
laundering while Islamofasistic - Osama's dry cleaner
significant othering while Islamofasistic - Osama's wife
being a ball-busting pest while Islamofasistic - Osama's young children
barbering while Islamofasistic - Osama's tonsorial aide
tailoring while Islamofasistic - Osama's haberdasherer [this guy probably ain't all that busy]
embalming while Islamofasistic - Osama's funeral director [if Osama is kaput].
And so it can go. All the warp and woof and rhythm of everyday life, it can be construsted as material support for Osama's terrorism, and we are limited only by the legal imagination of the US govt and POTUS Bush's and VPOTUS Chaney's sense of embarassment and willingness to endure obscene amounts of ridicule. It appears as if both qualities are in infinite supply among B & C.
Well, less than 6 months and counting down.
Sentencing will be interesting. Hamdan can get up to 30 years, or as little as 6 years. And time serve in Quantanamo will be credited.
Breaking News Just In : Sentenced to 66 months, if indeed he is credited with time served in Gitmo, this guy walks by Groundhog Day. Yep, that's how to rum a GWOT.
Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Thursday, August 7, 2008 -- 4:17 PM ET
-----
Bin Laden's Former Driver Sentenced to 66 Months
A panel of six senior military officers sentenced Salim
Hamdan to 66 months in prison after just over an hour of
deliberation.
Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na
They have no responsibility for my sentiments, but I dedicate this post to all the absent liberals who used to populate this forum. May they soon return, be it under Bush, McCain or Obama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/07/washington/07gitmo.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th
-- Modified on 8/7/2008 5:56:29 PM
"Hamdan was convicted of providing personal services in support of terrorism, specifically driving, guarding and ferrying weapons for a man he knew to be the leader of an international terrorist organization."
Note the last two. GUARDING and FERRYING WEAPONS.
As a bodyguard he was responsible for keeping him from harm while planning his next terrorist attacks, and also transported weapons. Painting him as nothing more than a taxi cab driver picking up an unknown fare is silly.
Sort of like the Palestinians who transport weapons and rockets in an ambulance to be used for Hamas terrorist attacks but do not personally fire them themselves. They are still co-conspirators.
Sorry if I fail to shed a tear.
It is fundamental that an acquittal DOES NOT mean a person is innocent. The system - even the one used in this case - is designed to let X number of guilty go free, so as to protect some innocents.
Remember, the guilty may be people who kill or try to kill thousands. You may say that letting some go free is worth it to protect other innocents from false charges, and that is a value judgment each person must make. But that does not change the fact that at times terrible people may be acquitted. It just explains why we, as a society, are willing to tolerate that result.
Personally, I would be surprised to find that bin Laden gets his help by calling the local employment agency and saying, "Send someone over." He did not get this guy from "Drivers R Us" in the Afghan Yellow Pages. You could safely bet the farm the guy was a hard core believer.
There have been several people already released from Gitmo for various reasons who then returned to a life of terrorism and murder.
The fact that this guy may have been acquitted does not mean he was innocent.