Ahmed Ghailani, the al-Qaeda terrorist who participated in the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, will be sentenced this month, perhaps to life imprisonment, but perhaps to as little as 20 years.

Ghailani was transported from Guantanamo Bay to New York City to await trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in June 2009. When the case came to trial, the judge disallowed the testimony of a key witness. On November 17, 2010, a jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy, but acquitted him of 284 other charges including all murder counts. Critics of the Obama administration said the verdict proves civilian courts cannot be trusted to prosecute terrorists because it shows a jury might acquit such a defendant entirely. Supporters of the trial have said that the conviction and the stiff sentencing prove that the federal justice system works.

Not if he gets only 20 years.

Last month the House banned funding to bring Guantanamo prisoners to the US to be tried as criminals in federal courts.

Predictably, this elicited howls of protest from those who hold the strange opinion that prisoners of war should be tried individually like civilian citizens; the pro-Islam sentimentalists (such as President Obama and Attorney-General Eric Holder) who want “Gitmo” closed, pretending that it’s a tough penal institution rather than the holiday-camp safety-pen it actually is.

Prisoners of war should be kept until the war is over. If trials must be held, they should be conducted by military tribunals, and death sentences should be carried out promptly with guns.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed the planner of 9/11, Richard Reid the shoe-bomber, Nidal Malik Hasan the Fort Hood mass-murderer, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the underwear-bomber, Faisal Shahzad the Times Square car-bomber, and all Muslim terrorists waging jihad against the non-Muslim world should be brought before military tribunals.

This is not what is happening. But if jihadists apprehended on American soil are to be tried as criminals, their sentences should be as harsh as the law allows.

Richard Reid was tried as a criminal and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Judge William Young made a most eloquent case for trying terrorists individually as criminals. He declared in his ruling, delivered January 30, 2003:

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist … And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice. ..

It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom’s sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We are about it. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bare any burden, pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

We agree that Reid was not a soldier, and that he is a terrorist. But he tried to blow up a civil aircraft in flight as a Muslim carrying out his duty to wage Holy War, the war that America went to fight in Afghanistan.

On that point we disagree with Judge William Young. But some words of his we think are worth recalling in opposition to those whose hearts bleed for the inmates of Guantanamo :

It seems to me you hate the one thing that is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea.

And long may they do so, however hard the Obama administration tries to bring them under government control.

But such winds should not fan the cheeks of Islam’s Holy Warriors.

The following is an email by Mark Litvak which is going round America today, forwarded from one recipient to another, informing people about a hugely significant judgment that we otherwise would not hear about since the mainstream media chose not to report it. (Or if they did, not prominently enough for anyone to remember.) Why do they not want us to know about it? Are they for terrorism? Are they against freedom? Do they ask themselves these questions? What are their answers?  

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to

light it?

       Did you know his trial is over?

      Did you know he was sentenced?

      Did you see/hear any of the judge’s comments on TV or Radio?

       Didn’t think so.!!!

    Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

  ————————————————————————–

         Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

     Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to

say..  His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid

also admitted his ‘allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the

religion of Allah,’ defiantly stating, ‘I think I will not apologize for

my actions,’ and told the court ‘I am at war with your country.’

     Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

 

     January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

     Judge Young:   ‘Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the

Court imposes upon you.

     On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the

custody of the United States Attorney General.  On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the

Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each

count to run consecutively.  (That’s 80 years.)

     On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be

served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed.  The Court imposes upon you

for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that’s an aggregate fine of

$2 million.  The Court accepts the government’s recommendation with respect

to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet

and $5,784 to American Airlines.

     The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes

upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But

the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

     This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes.  It is a fair

and just sentence.  It is a righteous sentence.

     Now, let me explain this to you.  We are not afraid of you or any of your

terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid.  We are Americans.  We have been through

the fire before.  There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone

with the utmost respect.  Here in this court, we deal with individuals as

individuals and care for individuals as individuals.  As human beings, we reach

out for justice.

     You are not an enemy combatant.  You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier

in any war.  You are a terrorist.  To give you that reference, to call you a

soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do

it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier.  You are

not—– you are a terrorist.  And we do not negotiate with terrorists.  We do

not meet with terrorists.  We do not sign documents with terrorists.  We hunt

them down one by one and bring them to justice.

     So war talk is way out of line in this court.  You are a big fellow. But

you are not that big.  You’re no warrior.  I’ve known warriors. You are

a terrorist.  A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted

murders.  In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you

first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the

press and the TV crews were, and he said: ‘You’re no big deal.’

     You are no big deal.

     What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys

have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple

with, is why you did something so horrific.  What was it that led you here to

this courtroom today?

     I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to

search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do

what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing?  And, I have an answer

for you.  It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes

as close to understanding as I know.

     It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate

our freedom.  Our individual freedom.  Our individual freedom to live as we

choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we

individually choose.  Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It

carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea.  It is because we prize

individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So

that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly,

individually, and discretely.  It is for freedom’s sake that your lawyers

are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in

their representation of you before other judges.

     We Americans are all about freedom.  Because we all know that the way we

treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties.  Make no mistake

though.  It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve

our freedoms.  Look around this courtroom.  Mark it well.  The world is not

going to long remember what you or I say here.  The day after tomorrow, it will

be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

     Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American

people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war,

individual justice is in fact being done.  The very President of the United

States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out

evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will

gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and

refine our sense of justice.

     See that flag, Mr. Reid?  That’s the flag of the United States of

America .  That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag

stands for freedom.  And it always will.

     Mr. Custody Officer.  Stand him down.

 

     So, how much of this Judge’s comments did we hear on our TV sets?  We

need more judges like Judge Young, but that’s another subject.  Pass this

around.  Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say.

Powerful words that strike home…