[COLUMN] Do not fear trying terrorists here

It is odd that those in the highest offices of power in this country have so little faith in our governmental systems.

Some members of Congress appear afraid of the idea of putting the suspects in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., on trial in U.S. civilian courts.

There also seems to be a fear of housing detainees currently held at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base Detention Center in Cuba at a facility here in the United States.

Both fears are unfounded.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning the decision to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other accused plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on trial in the United States.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., himself a military lawyer, expressed the fear felt by many.

"You have taken a wartime model that will allow flexibility when it comes to intelligence gathering, and you have compromised this country's ability to deal with people at war with us by interjecting into the system the possibility that they may be given the same constitutional rights as any American citizen," Graham said.

Hence the problem of how we have handled terrorist suspects so far. Too many people think we are at war and want to treat these suspected terrorists as war criminals.

However, the reality is we are not at war. We are simply using military force to capture criminals in foreign countries.

That is, however, irrelevant.

The point Graham misses is that war or not, we must demonstrate to the world the importance of the rule of law.

Unfortunately, President Barack Obama gave the world reason to question the fairness of any trial.

In an interview with NBC News, Obama said those offended by the legal privileges given to Mohammed by virtue of getting a civilian trial rather than a military tribunal will not find it "offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him."

Perhaps Obama should have stated his confidence in the judicial system with a little more nuance rather than making it appear Mohammed has already been convicted and sentenced and that the trial is merely for show.

Many fear Mohammed might make a mockery of the judicial system while on trial. However, we have tried terrorists before who attempted to use the courtroom as a vehicle to spread their message of hate and, in the end, justice was still served.

In reality, a civilian trial will demonstrate that people living in a free country do not let passions and fear guide their responses to criminal activity. It will give the people of the United States the opportunity to serve as a shining example to the rest of the world of how a civilized and free society should behave.

Likewise, there should be no fear of holding the Guantánamo detainees in jails and prisons in the United States.

U.S. prisons already house convicted terrorists. Federal Bureau of Prisons director Harley Lappin said more than 340 international and domestic terrorists are incarcerated in the United States.

The Guantánamo detainees would be kept separate from U.S. prisoners and would remain under military control. They would not be permitted to have visitors.

There is an unfounded fear of an American city becoming a terrorist target simply because the detainees are there.

It is unlikely terrorists would target a particular city because of a prison housing the detainees. The whole idea of terrorism is to terrorize people and that means hitting high-profile targets and those are usually in large cities.

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, all large cities in the United States have been and will continue to be on high alert for the possibility of terrorist attacks. The addition of detainees will do nothing to change that. If anything, security in the area surrounding the prison, whichever one is chosen, will likely be increased, further reducing the likelihood of a terrorist attack.

The right thing to do is to try any suspected terrorists in civilian courts. As for the detainees, charge them or release them and do not worry about housing them on U.S. soil in the meantime.