Jihadists Versus Fools On The Bench

Editorial - Autust 1, 2005 - The Washington Times

One would hardly know it from the tendentious political speech delivered by federal District Judge John Coughenour Wednesday in sentencing al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Ressam to 22 years in prison for plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, but the Ressam case shows what is wrong with a strategy of using the courts as our primary means of fighting terror -- as the Clinton administration did for eight years.

It is sometimes frustrating to watch the courts take the position in all cases that they and they alone have the insight to make decisions. Running a revolving door criminal justice system, they have become insensitive to the damage they do to society. Their blindness to reality means they cannot get away from their usual lenient sentencing practices, even when the person is an unrepentant enemy of our nation.

Criminals know their rights well. Jihadists know their rights well also. Jihadists are not criminals However judges cannot see the difference between the two. The title of this article is the appropriate response. Such people truly are "Fools".