No, smart aleck, the answer is not "8".
From "What Has Changed?" by Robert P. Kirchhoefer at the Am. Spectator:
"Unlike the 1993 attack and unlike the apprehension of 9/11 co-conspirator Moussaoui, those accused of planning the 9/11 terrorist attacks were all apprehended outside of the United States. They were imprisoned outside of the United States. Most were apprehended well after the United States had launched the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These enemy combatants who were caught overseas have no need of being brought to America as if they were NYC cab drivers, tourists, or preachers in a lower Manhattan mosque. They were not.
Attorney General Holder states that we are using all of our options in the prosecution of these terrorists:
We are at war, and we will use every instrument of national power -- civilian, military, law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic and others -- to win.…
"Every instrument" should also include the military tribunals. Military tribunals are military actions. They are for wartime activities. To date, over 5,000 soldiers have lost their lives fighting this war. This is not a police action nor is it a limited engagement. This is, as Mr. Holder stated, a call for "every instrument of national power." But Mr. Holder fails to grasp the significance of his own words. He fails to recognize that we have other options and other instruments. Why won't we use them?"
This question of "Why?" has some congress critters scratching their heads, as well. One of the few Democrats I still have respect for - fellow Missourian, Ike Skelton (D-MO 4th District) - is pushing this curiosity for a Congressional hearing, not that it will do much good, based upon the sorry history of these impotent weasel-fests.
But, EM over at HA says the normally conservative, very pro-military Skelton may have the clout in which to hobble Holder's unwise civilian prosecution of Khalid:
"After all, it was a Democratic Congress that passed the current military commissions system, working with a Republican President, to find a system that would get the blessing of the Supreme Court while maintaining security for our war efforts in intelligence. Without the Democrats in 2007, there would have been no military commissions system at all. That default would have forced KSM and everyone else at Gitmo into federal court eventually, an outcome that few wanted to see … at least in 2007."
I wonder who was POTUS in 2007?
