PRISONERS OF WAR, NOT COMMON CRIMINALS

When will President Obama realize that it’s not just al-Qaeda and the Taliban that we’re at war with? When will he realize that it’s Islam that is at war with the western world? Obama just can't bring himself to admit that the very Muslims he's been reaching out to are the same ones who want to destroy us.

Islam is well on its way to turning all of Europe into an Islamic state. That is also their aim for Canada and the United States. We are making a big mistake by saying that it’s only “radical” Muslims or “extremists” that are behind the attacks on the West. It is the fundamentalists, a majority of the world's Muslims, who are at war with us.

When captured, Islam’s fighters (suicide bombers) should be treated as POWs - no rights under American jurisprudence and no release until the war is over! To prosecute captured Islamists in our civilian courts, treating them like common criminals with all the constitutional rights afforded to those charged with a crime, is not only ridiculous but threatens the security of the United States.

It was a big mistake to prosecute shoe bomber Richard Reid in a civilian court for attempting to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by setting off explosives hidden in his shoes. Now we’re making the same mistake with underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. And the Obama administration is compounding those mistakes by transferring Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, and four other men accused in the plot from Guantánamo to New York City to be tried in a civilian court.

All of the captured Islamists are soldiers in a war just as sure as if they were fighting for the Nazis in WWII. Why then treat them any differently than we treated the German POWs? They should be tried by military tribunals and, if convicted of attacking us, or of intending to attack us, while dressed as civilians, they should be executed. When, in 1942, we captured eight German saboteurs who landed on Long Island and in Florida from two submarines, they were tried by a military tribunal and six of them were promptly executed.

When, under both Bush and Obama, we released some of the POWs from Gitmo and sent them back to Yemen, they rejoined their comrades-in-arms to resume their fight against us. That is why we should not shut down Gitmo! Gitmo is a righteous and secure POW camp. Just because it’s gotten a bad rap in the past is not an excuse for shutting it down.

Wake up Mr. President, we are at war with Islam, not just with al-Qaeda and the Taliban!