Militant Islam Loses Two Cases

1. APPEALS COURT BACKS WARRANTLESS SEARCHES ABROAD:

From the New York Times:

A federal appeals court in Manhattan upheld the convictions on Monday of three Al Qaeda operatives in a ruling that bolsters the government’s power to investigate terrorism by holding that a key Constitutional protection afforded to Americans does not apply overseas. Related: [(Opinions (In Re: Terrorist Bombings) (Findlaw.com)]

The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit holds for the first time that government agents may obtain admissible evidence against United States citizens through warrantless searches abroad.

2. HOLY LAND FOUNDATION DEFENDANTS FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS:

From the Dallas News:

A jury on Monday determined that the Holy Land Foundation and five men who worked with the Muslim charity were guilty of three dozen counts related to the illegal funneling of at least $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

The unanimous verdicts are a complete victory for the government, which streamlined its case after a mistrial last year, and worked hard to carefully educate jurors on the complex evidence presented in the massive case. Guilty verdicts were read on 108 separate charges.

In retrospect this is good news and, at the same time, troubling news. In the first case, it is disturbing that it took a court to interpret the obvious: the US Constitution does not apply overseas. Captain Obvious would be proud.

In the second instance, it is disturbing that it took two attempts to win this case, fifteen years and millions of dollars.

Steve Emerson said on Bill Bennett's Morning In America (Tuesday), that it was the most significant terrorism trial in the history of the United States. This has exposed many other groups as well; CAIR was also revealed to be a front for Hamas, Mr. Emerson said. It is a great "tell" that NO Islamic group has supported the case or now, the verdict. The Muslim America Society has called the ruling "not legitimate," CAIR is blistering, every other "mainstream" Islamic group is upset because, after all, these other groups are "fronts" themselves as well. All these groups are simply going to bleat that the ruling is another "attack" on Islam -- to which I would reply in one succinct word: bullshit.

Should SOFA result in American troops leaving Iraq next year en masse, the fight is clearly not over and, in my opinion, efforts will be redoubled by Militant Islam on our domestic soil. Militant Islam still continues to recruit in prisons and in mosques. This would be precisely the perfect time to conduct a strike on our homeland for these reasons: 1) Obama is perceived as inexperienced and flaccid; 2) America is extended and 3) Another strike would certainly hurl our economy completely over the precipice.

BZ