There has been a lot of brouhaha surrounding the upcoming trials for Khalid Shiekh Mohammed and the Christmas Day bomber.  The reason there has been an uproar over who gets to try them is all based on the attempts by people like former Vice President Dick Cheney to protect, and in some cases rewrite, their legacy. 

Cheney began his push back on reality way back in 2008 after Obama had won the Presidential election.  His daughter Liz and himself have appeared on numerous television shows and news casts largely pushing an alternate reality surrounding the use of torture on prisoners, or what they would call enhanced techniques.  After President Obama signed the executive order to begin closing down Guantanamo Bay, the fight was on to scare the crap out of people all around the United States, by Cheney and those who also support torture and his neoconservative point of view, so that they could safeguard their legacy.

Their argument was that torture gained the intelligence community actionable information that saved American lives.  The reality of the situation, as described by one of the interrogators of Khalid Shiekh Mohammed, was that he gave information without torture, and once they started to water board him he stopped talking.  A similar story popped up around Umar Abdulmutallab, the underwear/Christmas Day bomber.  Those who have an interest in making life difficult politically for the current administration complained bitterly about Abdullmutallab receiving his Miranda warning, sparking cries and false stories about how supposedly he asked for a lawyer immediately and investigators lost their ability to question the man about who trained him and sent him on his deadly errand.  What really happened was very different.  The man was questioned for 9 hours after being taken into custody and gave up actionable intelligence.  It wasn't until he needed medical attention for his injuries in and around his groin, that he stopped talking while being treated by doctors, and when it was clear that he wouldn't talk anymore, he was given his Miranda warnings.  While it is true that after he woke up he wouldn't talk, the FBI decided to fly his family in and he began singing like a bird, debunking the right wing meme surrounding these individuals.

Now, you're probably asking yourself, well its all fine and good now that we know the truth about what torture did to the intelligence process, what's the problem?  The problem is that 55% of Americans in a recent poll still believe that torture is acceptable to get information, even though it doesn't work.  Which brings us to the huge controversy over what jurisdiction will be handling the trials of these men.

In the 8 years President George W. Bush was President, hundreds of terrorists were were tried in civilian courts and successfully convicted and are now severing life sentences in prison.  In all of that time there have been 3 military tribunals whereby 2 of the three men were let free and were reported to have joined the fight once again helping to train new terrorist cells in Yemen. 

You might ask yourself, hold on one second, I've heard that civilian courts could let these guys go free because they've been read their Miranda rights and they are being treated just like everyone else in the eyes of  the law?  Well, it turns out that civilian courts are far more likely to convict a terrorist, have far more experience from a prosecution standpoint, as well as far more judicial experience to handle complex cases like this.  You should also make a note of the fact that there were no questions surrounding where a trial would take place until Barack Obama took the Presidency, indicating that it's all about playing the political game.

We have all ran headfirst into a giant misinformation machine, designed solely to confuse and misdirect.  Shitty lawyers would tell you that they could dazzle a judge with nonsensical motions and get their terrorist client off, but the evidence is clear when you compare the alternatives.  It's really obvious that this attempt to smear the American justice system is an attempt to attack President Obama and his Attorney General, Eric Holder, and it should be a wakeup call to those who are interested in justice.  The judge who sentenced the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, to prison for life commented on Reid's urgency to be officially named a soldier saying:

"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist coconspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.

Here in this court, where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice, you are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You are no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders."

What is happening now is an attack on the Justice System, based on centuries of thought and the mantra of a fair trial for everyone, innocent until proven guilty.  The worst part about the attack is that it has no substance, or evidence to support how crazy the position is, and relies almost entirely on revenge as a motive.  It would be a real victory for terrorist forces if we change the principles and the foundation of our civil contract with each other.  Very sad.