Law and Order

But there is where the Gulag country begins,
right next to us, two yards away from us.
In addition, we have failed to notice an enormous num­ber
of closely fitted, well-disguised doors and gates in these
fences. All those gates were prepared for us, every last one!
And all of a sudden the fateful gate swings quickly open,
and four white male hands, unaccustomed to physical labor
but none­theless strong and tenacious, grab us by the
leg, arm, collar, cap, ear, and drag us in like a sack,
and the gate behind us, the gate to
our past life, is slammed shut once and for all
--The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn

What's good for the goose
is good for the gander
___________________

America quivers before the thought of using its powerful judiciary to address the crime of terrorism while Italy shows that terrorism can be addressed successfully in fair civilian court trials.

"An appellate court in Milan upheld on Wednesday the conviction of 23 Americans charged with kidnapping an Egyptian cleric in 2003 and ordered even harsher sentences. All but one of the Americans are Central Intelligence Agency operatives (Italy: Court Upholds Convictions of Americans in Kidnapping Case)."

The Italian trials prove kidnapping (=State-sponsored crime) is a crime, even when committed by Central Intelligence Agency operatives (= convicted felons). Terrorists kidnap; states extradite and arrest. It will be interesting to see if the convicted felons will be extradited to Italy. If not, can we say we are a nation of law?

Why are our agents shielded from serving time for their crime, while suspected terrorists are imprisoned indefinitely sans legal proceedings? This double-standard is reprehensible. (We should only be applying this standard to relations between the sexes.) To maintain two sets of standards is the definition of hypocrisy.

Did our leaders authorize kidnapping and think they could get away with the crime? Our legacy is not Soviet Russia. As U.S.citizens we should be happy if CIA miscreants do their time for their blatant disregard of civilized behavior.

As distasteful were the illegal renditions ordered by the Bush administration, President Obama has gone a step further in his sanctioning of the assassination of U.S. citizens like al-Awlaki Predator drones killing from the sky is also a form of political assassination, having no connection with legitimate military operations. Why are U.S. policies based in criminal actions? Criminality cannot solve criminality.

Kidnapping is not a counter terrorism tactic; it is a crime.

Doing Time

Dey tells all you chillun
De devil's a villain,
But it ain't necessarily so!
--It Ain't Necessarily So,
George Gershwin
_____________

Italy began its trial last week against CIA operatives and intelligence officials who participated in the 2003 extraordinary rendition of suspected terrorist collaborator Abu Omar, a Muslim cleric.

After Omar was abducted from an Italian street he says he was taken to an Egyptian prison and tortured. Following a series of incarcerations and releases, he was finally released from the prison system in 2007.

Also charged are "26 Americans — 25 Central Intelligence Agency operatives and one Air Force colonel," but the U.S. says it will not extradite them, and the Bush administration remains noncommittal on whether it was involved in Mr. Nasr's disappearance.

"Far more vulnerable, though, are more than a half dozen high-level officers of Italy’s secret service who have also been indicted, all accused of in some way approving, masterminding or carrying out the kidnapping plan (Italian Trial of C.I.A. Operatives Begins with Torture Testimony.)"

So the U.S., great exporter of democracy, refuses to cooperate with Italy within the rules of international law. If the CIA agents are not guilty, why will the U.S. not extradite them? If you do the Crime, be prepared to do the time.

Many members of Italy’s law enforcement agencies were furious about the kidnapping. They say they could have arrested Mr. Nasr at any time and had long had him under surveillance for potential connections with terrorists. They say his clumsy and illegal kidnapping erased years of police work that had put them on the verge of gaining valuable information about Muslim groups in Italy.

Once again, potentially criminal activity by U.S. operatives is being officially condoned and exhibits illegal U.S. activity within the sovereign nation of Italy. Something did change after 9-11: the U.S. has become a rogue player on the international legal scene.

Kidnapping is not justified nor is torture condoned in a democracy, even when conducted by surrogates, even when sugar-coated as counter-terrorism.

Without adherence to the rule of law, both national and international, can the U.S. claim to be a civil and democratic participant among like nations? Without the rule of law, what is the purpose of democracy in America?