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Lee Boyland
Unintended Consequences of the New York
City Terrorist Trial
November 18, 2009
▪ Terrorists may be granted bail;
▪ Much of the evidence may be ruled inadmissible;
▪ The trial will become a forum to preach fundamentalists Islamic doctrine;
▪ The trial can drag on for years;
▪ If one or more of the terrorists are sentenced to prison terms, they will recruit more terrorists in the prison system.
All of the above may occur, but other ramifications, unintended consequences, may also occur.
Islamic detainees at Guantanamo Bay are granted privileges not afforded to men awaiting trial in local jails, or prisoners in federal or state prisons. At Guantanamo, each detainee has an individual cell and a better diet than they had at home. Meals totaling up to 4,200 calories per day are brought to their cells, well above the 2,000 to 3,000 calories recommended for weight maintenance by U.S. government dietary guidelines. It is reported that some inmates are eating everything on the menu. One detainee has almost doubled in weight, to 410 pounds, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand, spokesman for the detention facilities at Guantanamo, a U.S. Navy station in southeast Cuba. Detainees are simply served a wide variety of food and are expected to choose what appeals to them.
Detainees are not subject to body searches of their crotch area, beard, or hair. Thus, they are able to meet with their attorneys, receive contraband, and pass messages to their compatriots. Guards are required to treat copies of the Koran with respect—special procedures not afforded the Bible or Torah. Terrorist detainees throw feces and urine at their military guards, whose response is limited by strict protocols. Such actions are not allowed in jails.
Lawyers for the five terrorists will demand the same "privileges" for their clients in New York City or county jails. What, no in-cell food delivery? No menu to chose from? Unacceptable! Jail guards will be accused of "torture", "racism", "racial insensitivity", "bigotry", "religious insensitivity" etc. when they respond in a normal manner when assaulted with feces or urine by the terrorists—assaults military guards have to put up with. The guards' response to these assaults will provide the basis for more motions, hearings that provide forums for propaganda, and additional opportunities to turn the trial (trials if defense lawyers succeed in obtaining a separate trial for each terrorist) into a circus. On the upside, newspaper sales will skyrocket.
Seating the jury will be another circus. Defense lawyers will demand that Muslims be on the jury. I see no way to exclude them. One or more Muslims can cause a hung jury. Then the circus begins anew.
Demonstrations will occur. New York City experienced Muslim Day in 2008. Then there was the pro-Hamas demonstration in Florida. Will there be similar parades and demonstrations in support of the terrorists? Will there be counter demonstrations? Will angry Americans say enough is enough and confront the Muslim demonstrations? I think the answer to all of these questions is yes.
Now the problem. If violent confrontations between Muslim supporters of the terrorists and angry Americans occur, who will the police and New York National Guard protect? If protection is provided to the Muslims supporting terrorists, and Americans supporting American values are injured and/or jailed, what will be the nation's reaction? Will millions of angry Americans from every state converge on the city to vent their outrage? If yes, New York State and New York City will have to consider the consequences of using force against American citizens, something that could even spark a civil war. What a terrorist delight that would be!
Or, consider the unthinkable—one or more (or even all) of the terrorists are acquitted. Could this happen? Of course it could. If it does, how will the American people react?
I think each of us should consider these possibilities—how we will deal with these unintended consequences—and answer the question for our selves.
Let the games begin.
About Lee Boyland
Lee Boyland earned a degree in nuclear engineering, then entered active duty as an officer in the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps. A graduate of the U.S. Navy’s Explosive and Nuclear Ordnance Disposal Schools, Boyland was assigned to the Defense Atomic Support Agency in Albuquerque, NM. A member of DASA’s Nuclear Emergency Team responsible for nuclear weapons accidents, including the rendering safe of armed nuclear warheads, he had access to the design details of every nuclear and thermonuclear warhead developed by the United States through the Mark 63 warhead. His duties took him to the Nevada Test Site on many occasions. After leaving the Army, he designed conventional and special ordnance, and demilitarized chemical weapons at Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Tooele Army Depot. He made the transition to hazardous waste management by applying aerospace combustion technology to incineration of Agent Orange. He is the author of The Rings of Allah and Behold, an Ashen Horse, which received critical acclaim by the Military Writers Society of America.
