Double standards with U.S. and Terrorism
From the Los Angeles Times
AÂ terrorist walks
Luis Posada Carriles has boasted of bombing Havana hotels, yet American
justice lets him go free.
April 20, 2007
WITH A MISGUIDED decision upholding bail for Cuban-born terrorist Luis Posada
Carriles, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of
Appeals in New Orleans has done more than
free a frail old man facing unremarkable
immigration charges. It has exposed
Washington to legitimate charges of
hypocrisy in the war on terror.
By allowing Posada to go free before his
May 11 trial, the court has released a known
flight risk who previously escaped from a Venezuelan prison, a man who has boasted
of helping set off deadly bombs in Havana
hotels 10 years ago and the alleged
mastermind of a 1976 bombing of a Cuban
airplane that killed 73 people. Posada’s
employees confessed to the attack, and
declassified FBI and CIA documents have
shown that he attended planning sessions.
In other words, Posada is the Zacarias
Moussaoui of Havana and Caracas.
Moussaoui is serving a life sentence
without parole in a federal prison in
Colorado for conspiracy in the 9/11 attacks
Posada is free to live in Miami.
Posada, a 79-year-old Bay of Pigs veteran who served time in Panama for plotting to
kill Fidel Castro, has never been charged
with crimes of terrorism in U.S. courts.
Instead, Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement nabbed him for lying to
immigration authorities after he sneaked in
the country in March 2005 and held a news
conference announcing his triumphant
return. Both Customs and the Justice
Department lobbied to keep Posada behind
bars, but U.S. law enforcement has never
shown a strong interest in trying him for
more serious crimes. In turn, Posada’s
lawyer has preemptively warned that if
charged, his client would likely reveal
extensive collaboration with the CIA.
The United States keeps 385 suspected
terrorists imprisoned in Guantanamo
Bay, many in isolation and all without U.S.
norms of due process. Yet Posada, a
confessed terrorist, is sent home with an
ankle bracelet.
The United States has not been able to
persuade any of seven allied nations to
accept Posada. A federal judge has ruled
that he can’t be extradited to Cuba or
Venezuela because he might be tortured.
The best solution would have been for the
court to refuse bail until trial while the
State Department keeps searching for a
third-party country that would agree to try
him on terrorism charges.
Instead, Castro receives a propaganda
victory gift, the White House has its moral
authority undermined and the victims of
Carriles’ alleged crimes see justice delayed
once more.
The U.S. government has done many odd
things in 46 years of a largely failed Cuba
policy, but letting a notorious terrorist walk
stands among the most perverse yet.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 at 4:19 AM and filed under Articles, Terrorism. Follow comments here with the RSS 2.0 feed. Skip to the end and leave a response. Trackbacks are closed.
