Senate Committee wants to prohibit criminal trials for terrorists

Congress wants to force the administration to try suspected terrorists in military commissions, rather than criminal courts. The Senate Armed Services Committee, in a bipartisan compromise, approved a defense funding bill that included provisions on detaining terrorism suspects.  The executive branch would have statutory authority to indefinitely detain suspected terrorists, and any non-citizen suspected of ties to al Qaeda would be immediately transferred to military custody.  Last week, 13 Senate Democrats asked that the provision be removed from the defense bill, echoing concerns from the Obama administration that it would take away the executive branch’s flexibility in fighting terrorists.

Democrats are right to object to this provision.  When this issue is viewed in the broader context of the decade-long war on al Qaeda, it is clear that Republicans are putting politics above national security. Obama has aggressively fought al Qaeda on multiple fronts, but if Republicans can convince voters that Obama’s use of criminal trials is dangerous, they can keep alive the myth that Democrats are soft on national security.

The objections to criminal trials are baseless. The opposition to criminal trials seems to rest on a lack of faith in our criminal justice system’s ability to prosecute terrorists – this despite the fact that federal prosecutors have convicted hundreds of terrorists since 9/11, compared to a handful of convictions under military commissions. When President Bush prosecuted most suspected terrorists in criminal courts, Republicans did not proffer the same dire warnings about terrorists released onto our streets. Some Republicans complain about the government honoring the “rights” of suspected terrorists, as if this inherently makes it more likely that dangerous terrorists will go free.

Many progressives have turned their attention away from these executive power issues since President Bush left office. Though Obama failed to close Guantanamo, he seems committed to keeping the option of criminal trials on the table.  Progressives should support the President – not because we trust Obama, but because we should trust federal judges and prosecutors to do their job. If Congress has their way, the executive branch will always serve as judge and jury when prosecuting terrorists. Do we want Congress deciding whether dangerous terrorists belong in the custody of military or intelligence officials?

Trials in Article III courts would lend legitimacy to our victories in the fight against al Qaeda. Whenever possible, we should treat terrorists like murderous  criminals, not soldiers. Criminal trials do not make us less safe. For today’s Republican party, politics trumps reason.