OPINION: Terror trials: Don't jeopardize us to prove a point
Ronald F. LaValle lives in Patchogue.
The rhetoric of those supporting the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed et al. in New York City is impressive, but it fails to make the case on several levels.
Some, including this newspaper's editorial board, glibly state that holding the trial in the city could once again make it a terrorist target. Well, my son and son-in-law work in the city, and I'm not willing to expose them to another terrorist attack just to make a point about the American system of justice. I'd prefer that they go on safely with their lives.
I can guarantee that other fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters feel the same.
And what about the history of this country's long-standing policy of trying prisoners of war in tribunals under military law?
These prisoners are unlawful combatants, to boot. They do not deserve a worldwide public forum to broadcast further hate and pain toward all Americans - especially those who have lost loved ones in the unconscionable and cowardly attack against innocent men, women and children.
The Geneva Conventions strongly condemn their perfidy. They will get their due process, but it should be out of sight and orderly, in a secure courtroom.
If the world doesn't recognize the fairness of our jurisprudence, civil or military, well, it's just too bad.
