Thursday March 3, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

Sheik Abu Bakar Bashir was just cleared, I repeat, cleared, of all but one charge in the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing and the 2002 disco bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The attacks murdered 214 innocent people. Mostly Westerners.
The sheik is the leader of Jemmah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asia branch of al Qaeda.

Indonesian prosecutors could not prove that the Sheik provided inspiration or even support for the attacks. They could not pull together a conspiracy charge despite his numerous sermons and myriad statements to that effect.

What a perfect example of the pitiful state of counter terror activity around the world.
Almost everywhere that terrorist are brought to justice, the cases against them are weak and often lost.
Germany, Italy, France, the US and even Israel.
Some European states have decided to deport terrorists to Morocco and Turkey where conviction is more certain.

Laws must be changed. The bar must be lowered. Prosecutors must be permitted to prove conspiracy. Our lives depend on it.

We need a RICCO-style act for terror.