Time to get tough on terrorism

Last year Attorney General Eric Holder told the citizens of this country that he was extremely confident that trying a terrorist in a U.S. court of law would be the best way to try these terrorists. When there was public outcry that these terrorist trials would be better served in a military tribunal, he arrogantly said, “Talk to me after the Ghailani trial.”

Now that the trial is over, we find that several evidence items were dismissed by the judge, and one holdout juror refused to convict Ghailani of all counts except one. The most that Ghailani can get convicted of is 20 years in prison 20 years for helping to kill 224 people and 12 Americans.

So, Mr. Holder, is this the justice that you spoke of? This seemed to be a political statement, more than a good policy decision. Stories reported that Ghailani smirked and smiled as the not guilty verdicts were read.

I have to think that this is another sign of weakness to those trying to kill Americans. Until our leaders start figuring out that we cannot play political games regarding terrorism, we will all be dealing with issues like invasive searches at airports. Hopefully a lesson can be learned by this decision. It is time to get tough on the terrorism issue. If we fall asleep again, we will all pay the price.

Mike Law

Batavia