So said Attorney General Eric Holder, in an address to the American Constitution Society.
The statement is so incredible, so “lunatic” (to quote Ralph Peters), that it’s hard to know where to start. Terrorists laugh (I know; I’ve heard them do it) at our much-vaunted civilian court system and our commitment to go above and beyond the requirements of the law of armed conflict in the treatment and handling of detainees. Our civilian court system deters no one and brings precious few terrorists to justice.
That’s not to say that lawyers (and civilian legal norms) haven’t been instrumental in the fight. They have, but not in the way Attorney General Holder believes.
First and foremost, the Left’s lawyers are adept a waging “lawfare,” a form of asymmetric warfare that abuses both domestic and international legal norms to accomplish tactical and strategic goals that can’t be won on the battlefield. The successful use of lawfare means that air strikes aren’t launched, guilty detainees are released rather than punished, and — ultimately — the use of force is so restricted that our war disappears into the morass of a grandiose and expensive law-enforcement operation.
A legal strategy requires a legal response, and one of my primary jobs while serving as a judge advocate with the 2d Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq was ensuring that my commander retained and exercised all the freedom given him by the law of armed conflict and by our rules of engagement. In other words, if I did my job well, I facilitated an actual war, not a police action. In fact, the better I performed, the less relevant I was to the fight, as our war-fighting professionals were free to meet the enemy on our terms, not theirs — and not the antiwar Left’s.
Make no mistake, I respect our civilian court system immensely, but it is ill-suited to address the challenge of a well-armed, utterly depraved enemy lurking in the hills of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Lawyers can be useful, but we’re not critical — unless we’re fighting against the Left’s lawfare.
Let’s put it another way: If you saw a dozen al-Qaeda terrorists approaching your location, who would you rather have by your side? A squad of lawyers like me (even with my sidearm and M4 that I carried downrange) or one of Fox Troop (2/3 ACR)’s Bradley Fighting Vehicles, chain gun at the ready?
— David French is a senior counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice.
It's possible, isn't it, that Holder is what he seems to be? An imbecile?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Everything is a nail to a man with a hammer."
Holder doesn't have the sense to let other branches of govt do their jobs -- he thinks everything is a job for civilian lawyers. (And unfortunately his boss is the type who agrees.)
Congress has the same problem though -- they never met a problem they didn't want to respond to by Law (legislate future global temperatures? Sure why not!)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAccording to Mr. Holder, there have been many trials of terrorists caught on US soil in US civilian courts, which resulted in convictions and imprisonment without any retailiation against US persons in any of the districts where the terrorists were tried. Is this false?
Holder's recent statement was in response to Mitch McConnell's opposition to trying terrorists caught in Bowling Green in Kentucky courts, citing what he says is a threat of retaliation to the locals. McConnell doesn't seem to have anything concrete to back up his assertions.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse1.) You're missing the point or you're ignoring it.
2.) Holder's recent statements match his sort-of recent statements, his not-so-recent statements and all his long-ago statements about civilian court trials for terrorists.
3.) Not sure if you've noticed but Bowling Green is not equipped like Gitmo. The largest city in America, which has been on heightened alert ever since it was attacked 10 years ago, had a legit freakout over terrorism trials there, and you think a small town in Kentucky is able to handle something NYC doesn't want to mess with? Do you actually think about what you're writing?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYes, I do think, but thanks for asking. I'd suggest the trial of Khalid sheik Mohammed in NYC is different from the many other trials held in civilian courts, including this one in KY, where there haven't been any safety issues whatsoever, though Holder's changeup on NYC was a mistake in my mind.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe big issue is not courthouse safety. McConnell's arguments were not, first and foremost, about courthouse safety. Holder was not merely responding to McConnell's worrying over Bowling Green. There's a lot more to this than what you're bringing up, which, according to you, you've weighed over, which makes what you put down even worse.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseKevin Moriarty as a citizen of KY I do not want these two scum bags housed or tried in KY. They are enemy combatants and should be shipped to Gitmo since we are not going to blind fold them and shoot them.
They should have never been permitted into the States because they had been finger printed and were known terrorists while in Iraq. Here they lived in government subsidized housing and received food stamps. Your tax dollars being used efficiently.
A bigger problem for them is a liquored up red neck may try to shorten the process and shoot them. Then the poor red neck will be in deep doodoo for trying to eliminate scum caused by our efficient government.
I did not know that the word red neck, written as one word, was offensive. If it ain't offensive to us red necks, it shouldn't be offensive to the elite.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI wonder how soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coasties (not to mention everyone else involved in the effort) feel about that comment.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you expect anything more serious from this amateur hour administration, then you have more confidence in them than I.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat's some major league stupid there, Mr. Holder.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMr. Holder was instrumental in securing the pardon of FALN terrorists during the Clinton Aministration...
Just whose side is Holder on???
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThank you for the mental image of Gene Hackman in "A Bridge Too Far".
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf Holder's statement is true, then I expect to see him in court to answer gun running charges.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEric Holder: Living proof that certifiable idiocy is longer a barrier to serving as Attorney General.
Is this a great country or what?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt has been debated on most conservative blogs whether this Administration is incompetent or evil.Can they be that stupid or can they really hate America? Well Holder is the poster child for the Obama Administration. He is arrogant, bitter and a radical, just like his friend Barack.
It is my way or the highway according to Holder. Holder is a danger to our safety. But the only way to show him the highway is to vote Obama out of office. Then we can have honest hearings on what laws he may have broken while in office. If found guilt he should be sentence to time at GITMO.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHolder seems almost Bidenesque in his stupidity. I hope Obama has diapers enough to go around at the next cabinet meeting.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI don't think Holder can be as stupid as he seems. remember when he refused to say that radical Islam might have been a factor in terrorist attacks? nobody can possibly be that stupid. so I have to assume he's doing this all on purpose.
this guy should have been fired after he made that comment about "his people." but who's going to fire him? the president who feels the same way he does?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA general truism about Obama appointees: if they *do* something outrageous, it's an exercise of their radical policies. But, when one of them, Holder in this case, merely *says* something outrageous, look around fast to see what it is he's trying to divert your attention from (Gunwalker ATF/DoJ scandal).
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMichael Medved has said that the recent poll that a plurality of Americans think the number of homosexuals is 25%+ has been the reason for recent popular support of gay marriage. That makes sense. If a 1/4 of the population is not allowed to marry, then I would be in favour of it. But its closer to 1.5-2%. Yes, I think we should defend the rights of all Americans, but there are legal ways of doing such. Marriage remains the most important issue for a society (see David Cameron's move to try and tap into traditional families in England.
NY is an interesting battlefield. If this bill is defeated it might...operative word, might...cause a rebound of people re-examining the issue. Once this right is enacted, that battle is over. And no, I am not homo-phobic. I have a number of gay friends, and yes, I have shared both my faith, my belief in the role of supporting society helping institutions, and my objection to gay marriage. About 1/3 of my gay friends agree (which, to be honest, surprised me).
Maybe NY will be Waterloo.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat? You guys don't remember when Ruth Ginsburg para-glided to the roof of that hotel in Mogadishu, raced down three floors and took out a room full of warlords with her twin nickel-plated Czech Skorpion submachine pistols?
But I hear justice Thomas is even badder. That RV he vacations in? It's the REAL EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle. Supposedly, he favors an 8 inch Colt Python loaded with mercury-tipped hollowpoints.
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