Terrorists in the Land of Lincoln

The repatriation of Kuwaiti National Fouad Al Rabiah to his homeland is a further attempt by the Obama Administration to reduce the number of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay as much as possible before his self-imposed one-year deadline arrives in January. What disturbs me is the administration’s haste to reduce the number of Guantanamo detainees without regard to the reasons these people became detainees in the first place. Upwards of half of all previously released detainees have returned to the jihad battlefield, and there is no reason to believe Al Rabiah won’t do the same. The U.S. counterterrorism strategy appears in retreat. Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and four others in the Southern District of New York, yet try other detainees by military commission at Guantanamo, gives KSM the forum he requested at the time of his capture. If military commissions are a viable mechanism to try some detainees, why not all? Why offer Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the highest valued detainee to date, the opportunity to be on the world’s stage and subject New Yorkers to unnecessary security concerns, extraordinary costs and the dredging up of horrible memories of the events of 9/11? Now, word has leaked out that the Justice Department may acquire Thomson Correctional Center from the Illinois Department of Corrections, with the plan to use the facility to incarcerate the remaining Guantanamo detainees there. The prison can house 1,600 inmates in maximum security and another 200 in medium security, but its maximum security section has never been used since it was built in 2001. Since there are only about 220 terrorist detainees left in Guantanamo, what will become of the other cells? As a retired federal agent who has visited several federal prisons, I’m convinced the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will probably completely renovate the prison to meet federal guidelines – tennis courts, golf driving range, cable television, law library, university courses, computer Internet rooms (or better yet, high speed wireless DSL in each cell), a gym and weight rooms. In order to make the world feel better about how the U.S. treats its terrorist detainees, I’m sure BOP will add at least one mosque to the facility, hire the most radical Imam available and grant him unfettered access to the detainees. It will provide Islamic chefs to prepare lamb, chicken, and beef dishes served with all the rice and unleavened bread the detainees can possibly consume. Why stop there? How about free international telephone calling? Can a chiropractor help poor Mohammad with his back problems? Free haircuts, manicures and facial massages are also in order along with a green card and government stipend if acquitted. Tiger Woods has time on his hands. Maybe he could be the on-site pro for golf lessons. The prison is less than one mile from the Mississippi River. Field trips should include steam boat rides and outings at Harrah’s casino in nearby St. Louis. But wait! There’s more! These notorious killers now benefit from the U.S. Constitution. Where else on Earth can they find “due process of law,” and free legal counsel? A thing called “discovery,” in which the prosecutor and defense attorneys exchange information before trial, means that their ACLU attorneys will probably have access to highly classified U.S. government secrets they can leak to the New York Times and use in their clients defense. Military commissions were created for a good reason. The administration needs to crank them up now and start trying these detainees to finally serve justice. Sending them to the Land of Lincoln is a travesty that will be remedied in the 2010 mid-term elections.