Are we still the “Home of the Brave?”
Today, suspected terrorist Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani – charged in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa – was moved from Guantanamo Bay to New York City for trial. House Republican Leader John Boehner reacted by stating – “This is the first step in the Democrats’ plan to import terrorists into America,” .
Rep. Boehner is far from the only voice screaming at the top of his lungs in adamant opposition to any of the Guantanamo detainees being held on America soil. It’s a very interesting mix of people – both Democrat and Republican, that fear holding the detainees in this country. Even some of those who want Gitmo closed do not want the detainees in the US.
My response is simply this: Stop Being Cowards!! I said it – Stop Being Cowards!! This is America – the United States of America – and if there’s one thing we have always been great at, it’s locking people up!
Did you know that the US has the largest prison population in the entire world? We also have the largest percentage of our people locked in prison! We Know Prisons like no other nation in history! We can lock these guys up in SuperMax prisons that have unparalleled security.
So why are we so afraid of these people – these suspected terrorists? Is it because we fear the risk of escape? If that’s true, then we absolutely want the in our SuperMax prisons. They are the most escape proof in the world! Do we really want to trust the security of this nation to some small-town constable in a nation that could turn against us at a moments notice? This particular terrorist was involved in the deaths of over 400 people back in 1998. The safest place in the world to lock him up is right here in the good-ole US of A. If he can escape from one of our prisons, he can surely escape from anyone else’s. Do we want to rely on officials in Middle Eastern nations to apprehend these guys if they do escape? I don’t think so.
This is one topic where we absolutely cannot afford to let the abject cowardice of officials like Hiding John Boehner influence our national policy. His words have the stink of fear all over them. I’m not calling him a coward – but he sure is acting like one.
If America is truly at War with violent extremists, we must start acting like it. We, ALL AMERICANS, are fighters in the war – and we must pull our weight! Our legal system is the Best in the World, and we don’t need any extra-legal efforts to prosecute criminals. Our prison system is the most secure in the world, and no one has ever compromised our SuperMax structure.
Our Men and Women in uniform are doing their part by ACTUALLY FIGHTING! Let those of us who are safe at home play our part in making the world safer – by locking up the violent extremists RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA – so they can never return to the battlefield and harm our fighters again!
