By John Ballard
Dead Pool time.
Get braced for a deluge of opinions as KSM goes on trial in NYC.
Everybody who is Anybody (as well as the Nobodies) will have something to say.
My post is prompted by something said by a new contributor at Coming Anarchy.
...whether it�s by military tribunal or federal trial the outcome is almost certainly going to be the not so speedy execution of KSM. Which I think is a bad idea. A dead KSM becomes a martyr. A locked in solitary confinement for the rest of his life KSM becomes impotent and a more effective symbol of American retaliation. In short, if we catch you you lose your martyrdom card and the 72 virgins along with it. What�s the worst fate for an Islamic extremist? Certainly not a violent death. How about death by old age or disease, locked up like cattle and long forgotten by your cause?
And before I could look elsewhere these opinions were already in the comments thread.
...a life sentence may be harsher for KSM than a death sentence, but I'm concerned that his followers might try taking innocent people hostage in an attempt to free KSM. Executing KSM would prevent this.
==> & <==
The martyrdom thing is overrated. Go ahead and call him a martyr. I call him the guy who attacked America, was hunted down, captured, brought to New York, tried, and put to death . Killing the guy sends the right message.
First comment left at the FP arty linked above...
My prediction: The trial will radicalize more Muslims than 7 years of occupying Afghanistan and 5 years of occupying Iraq combined.
It will be al-Queda's greatest recruiting tool since 9/11.
Comments are open.
I don't know when comments close but it won't make a lot of difference.
You know what they say about backsides...
Personally, I just can't wait for Lara Logan to interview him.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I understand why it's okay for Newshoggers to express opinions on a subject but anyone else (us "nobodies") doing so is met with the vapid, empty commentary expressed above. If you're going to compare something I write to a "backside" at least have the class to flesh out that comparison with some reason.
ReplyDeleteBeg pardon, My Lord.
ReplyDeleteMy aim in quoting you in an attributed link was to put you into the group of "Everybody who is Anybody," NOT among the Nobodies. In fact, I find your words and comments thread important and quotable.
As for the Nobodies, the list begins with yours truly, and consists, as you said, of reams of vapid, empty commentary better condensed into 140 characters or less which, like so much profanity in a saloon, will evaporate in the morning. Think of me as an escaped Tweeter. (BTW, do you tweet?)(It's the Next Big Thing, you know.)
If I have an ulterior motive for this post it is to lead readers to the dull but too-obvious conclusion that the fate of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed lies with the criminal justice system, not with a surging public argument which ultimately carries no legal weight.
A secondary motive is that the comments thread at this site seems dry and unused except by a small handful of regulars. When I go to other sites (like yours) I encounter a stimulating trail of ideas in the comments threads largely missing at Newshoggers.
If you find the post offensive, I will delete it at your request.
It seemed to me that you were simply dismissing all commentary on the subject as so much "noise." Thanks for clarifying and I offer apology for misreading your intentions.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness. That Google cache feature makes deleting anything nearly impossible.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for your reply. Your new blog home is a wellspring of smart ideas and you are in fine company. It was chirol who turned me on to John Robb.
Heh. However offended I might get at what someone else writes concerning my own ideas I'd never have the audacity to demand that they censor themselves. Thanks for the kind words.
ReplyDelete