I love a good show trial.
Prosecutors in the trial of Osama bin Laden's driver unveiled a graphic video on Monday of the September 11 attacks and other al Qaeda operations that is likely to play a repeated role in pending war crimes cases.
The video is entitled "The Al Qaeda Plan," an echo of "The Nazi Plan" made by Oscar-winning director George Stevens as evidence in the Nuremberg war crimes trials of German leaders after World War II.
"Oh my God" was heard repeatedly as crowds watched the twin towers of the World Trade center collapse on September 11, 2001, in a vivid highlight of the movie shown over defense objections at the terrorism conspiracy trial of Salim Hamdan.
The six-member panel that will decide Hamdan's fate also saw footage of charred bodies stripped of flesh in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa and the body of a U.S. soldier dragged through the streets in Somalia in 2003.
Control tower conversations with one of the doomed September 11 planes were also included.
"The Al Qaeda Plan" was made for $25,000 by terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann for the Office of Military Commissions, which is conducting the trials of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo. Its 90 minutes of video clips depict the history of al Qaeda from its formation in 1988 through the September 11 attacks.
The commission's lead prosecutor, Col. Lawrence Morris, said the tape would be used in other trials but no decision had been made whether to use it in the trial of accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Hamdan's attorneys objected that the footage would prejudice the jury. "They're trying to terrorize the members," defense attorney Charles Swift told the court.
But prosecutors said the video helped illustrate the goals of al Qaeda training and ideology. "It is a very important part of the prosecution's case," said prosecutor Clayton Trivett.
Commission Judge Keith Allred approved the video, after first saying it would serve more to prejudice the case than to prove a point. "The planes crashing into the towers and the people screaming doesn't prove anything," he said.
You ever watch reality television? It sure is fun, huh?
Don’t you just love all of the stupid things people say? All of the wacky scenarios that play out?
It’s all in the editing. As somebody who has studied media for a long time, and personally edited a few films; let me tell you, it is not a difficult thing to alter context.
If you set out to produce something with intent to prove a specific point, it is an easy endeavor to scour decades of footage, and find that which highlights your preconceived view very persuasively.
And when you start out with footage of thousand-foot buildings dropping clear from the sky (and hopeless people leaping from them beforehand); it only becomes that much easier.
None of this proves guilt.
There are two basic stages in criminal trials: determining guilt, and sentencing.
In the pursuit of determining guilt, the heinous nature of the crime itself is entirely irrelevant. The only relevant points are motive, alibi, and evidence.
Any attempt to inspire emotional outrage on the basis of the act itself only serves to pervert the judgment of the body determining guilt. An innocent man standing accused of a crime has no ability to change history. Appeals to passion cloud rationality. Anger and righteous indignation are the greatest allies of prosecution.
It is only after the sober, emotionless determination of guilt where the monstrous nature of the crime applies in sentencing. It is only then when you allow offense to basic morality to inspire reaction. Guilt is a necessary determination before history has any application.
Despite that, here we are, holding show trials with the slickest of propaganda; reminding all who decide guilt why we are fighting any and all with olive skin, and a propensity to bow before Mecca.
And it is happening, my fellow American, in your name.
My favorite part of the article, however, comes in its footnotes:
The Pentagon said it had released three detainees -- one to Afghanistan, one to the United Arab Emirates and one to Qatar. It said more than 65 Guantanamo detainees are eligible for transfer or release subject to talks on where they will go.
Well, golly gee, it sounds to me like the Departments of Defense and Justice just copped to illegally holding (and torturing) 65 innocent individuals for over six years. And this is ignoring all of the people they’ve already released.
Maybe the government will produce a slick documentary for their trials against us one day.
I’m not holding my breath...