There has been much fretting about whether Al-Qaida's 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Muhammed should be tried by an ordinary US Federal Court. The title of this diary shows how I would pose the question. Join me on the flip side for details.
Here is the question I want to ask: Is Khalid Sheik Muhammed a War Crminal or just a Criminal?
If he's kept in indefinite detention as an enemy comtatent, or tried by a military tribunal, that shows acceptance of Muhammed's own self-designation as a fighter for Islam, a warrior, a prisoner of war in enemy hands. As the daughter of a World War II veteran, I don't want to see him treated like a soldier.
If he's tried by a Federal Court, then he is placed on the same level as any other criminal suspect, or any other convicted felon if convicted. I have no objection to calling the mass murder which he planned--and yes, I am quiye certain he's guilty--just that, a act of mass murder. We treated Moussaoui, the twentieth hijacker, as a criminal when we tried and convicted him. We treated the 1993 WTC bombers as criminals when we tried and convicted them.
Why not just drop the pretense--so flattering to KSM---that he is a soldier? Why not treat him like any other criminal?
I know this is a rather short diary. I just wanted to steer the discussion in a slightly different direction.