3 Teenagers Held In Plot At Massachusetts School

Q: I guess this would come under the catagory of domestic terrorism. Should these kids be tried in a military courts is the big question of the day?

A:Of COURSE we do. But HOW could this have been an act of terrorism? Those kids did not intend to intimidate or frighten somebody. They intended to commit a criminal act that was supposed to overshadow the events at Columbine High School on 4/20/99 FOR KICKS. E.. is making an apples to oranges comparison for the sake of showing (once again) his complete, aberrant stupidity on a subject he knows nothing about (so what else is new?). You know very well this is not the type of case a military tribunal would be used for. The President activated military tribunals under the War Powers Act for a specific purpose. A military tribunal can hold lthe identies of some important people secret to prevent reprisals from other, yet unknown, members of terrorist organizations should the need arise. Say, for example, bin Laden is captured alive. If he is tried in open court, the names and addresses of all jurors, prosecuting attorneys, witnesses, sources of intelligence leading to evidence, and the Judge are part of public record, and accessable to anyone under the Open Records Act. The fear is that any or all of those mentioned above could be subject to murder from remaining al Qai'da members or others sympathetic to bin Laden's cause. Equally important is preserving some intelligence sources, especially those in certain Middle Eastern nations, which could be compromised. In an open trial, these sources could very well have to be revealed or the information thrown out. The government would then face perhaps losing important information in trial with a resulting acquittal, or perhaps jeapordizing the lives of members of foreign governments. Such disclosure could even jeapordise the governments themselves, resulting in anarchy in strategic nations, such as Saudi Arabia. Military tribunals operate under the same basic rights as civillian courts, but the proceedings can be held behind closed doors, and such things as the names of the people involved, sources, etc. can be kept secret. The results of the proceedings themselves are not secret. The teens in question would not come under this type of trial necessity unless they were members of al Qai'da, and I do not think that the case. Your statement is purely inflammatory, and without basis for serious consideration.

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