Elise Cooper
Elise Cooper is a freelance author focusing on the conservative point of view on issues involving national and homeland security. Her articles have been published by various conservative blogs, magazines and Republican newsletters.
I am mad as hell and I am not going to take this anymore. David Axelrod, President Obama’s senior advisor stated on Meet the Press that Israel’s decision and announcement, during Vice-President Biden’s Middle East visit, to build 1600 new housing units in Jerusalem was “an affront and was an insult…This announcement was very destructive.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also “insulted.”
This administration as well as others has a convenient loss of memory. Between 1949 and 1967 East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control. During that time, Jews were not allowed to pray at the Western Wall, fifty-eight synagogues and Jewish schools were destroyed in the Old City, and the Jewish cemetery of the Mount of Olives was systematically desecrated.
Why am I angry? The Obama administration continues to single out Israel. John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has been quoted that “The Obama administration believes that Israel is as much or more of a problem as it is an ally, at least until Israel’s disagreements with its neighbors are resolved.” As an American and a Jew I am insulted with this administration’s outrageous and inflammatory statements. read more…
NewsReal Blog Interview: Note to Obama Administration: Make the Right Choice, Part two
There is much speculation on whether President Obama will overrule his attorney general and change the venue and the type of trial the terrorists will be given. NewsReal Blog interviewed those with first-hand knowledge for their opinion on what type of trial the terrorists should have and where it should be held. Weighing in with their opinions: Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FLA), a former JAG officer,Kyndra Rotunda, a Professor at Chapman School of Law in Orange, California and author of Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials, and Andrew C. McCarthy, who led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and is now a contributing editor for National Review Online.
Click here for part 1 of this interview.
NRB: What would you say to those that argue all previous terrorist acts were considered a crime?
Kyndra Rotunda: Previously, we never considered their actions as an act of war. After 9/11 we responded militarily: congress authorized funds, we sent troops in and we treated it as an attack on our country. 9/11 was not a crime. We did not see it that way then and we don’t see it that way now or we would currently not have troops on the ground.
NRB: Are there problems if a terrorist chose to represent himself?
McCarthy: The 20th hijacker’s, Zacharias Moussaoui, trial is a cautionary tale on how we dodged a bullet. Moussaoui defended himself to try to gain access to the raw intelligence and the ability to question al Qaeda members. In a civilian court Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) could say I want to represent myself, show me all the intelligence files, show me all the discovery files so I can read them for myself. We would be in the position of telling him no, thereby violating his right to counsel or telling him yes and giving him important, classified information. Do we violate his 6th amendment right to counsel, do we violate his 5th amendment right of discovery, or do we give him the crown jewels? This is not a dilemma we have with a military commission. He can still represent himself but the classified information will be protected for reasons stated earlier.
There is much speculation on whether President Obama will overrule his attorney general and change the venue and the type of trial the terrorists will be given. NewsReal Blog interviewed those with first-hand knowledge for their opinion on what type of trial the terrorists should have and where it should be held. Weighing in with their opinions: Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FLA), a former JAG officer, Kyndra Rotunda, a Professor at Chapman School of Law in Orange, California and author of Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials, and Andrew C. McCarthy, who led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and is now a contributing editor for National Review Online.
NewsRealBlog: Should the terrorists be tried in a federal court or a military commission?
Andrew McCarthy: The military system works because the terrorists would not have access to classified information. A military defense attorney, who has a security clearance, would view the classified information but would not be allowed to share it with the defendant.
Congressman Tom Rooney: A military commission is needed to protect the integrity of our federal court system. Eric Holder has stated to the outside world that military commissions don’t have the appearance of being fair. The problem is that the Obama administration has said that they will detain Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) even if found not guilty. What kind of perception is that: trying people, finding them not guilty, and then sending them back to jail?
NRB: Do you agree with the Obama administration’s decision to try different terrorists in different systems, the federal court and the military commission?
Kyndra Rotunda: NO. Military commissions are ok for some detainees, why not for others? KSM, for example, planned the attack on the World Trade Center, as well as the Pentagon. I can’t think of a more significant military target than the Pentagon. I don’t think there is a good distinction here. Understand that the whole idea for the rules of war is to try to limit the civilian casualties. read more…
John Yoo is currently a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2001 to 2003 he was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Council at the U.S. Department of Justice. It was during this time that he co-authored the Bybee memo defining torture and American Habeas Corpus which was the legal basis for the CIA’s harsh interrogation techniques. He is the author of The Powers of War and Peace: Foreign Affairs and the Constitution after 9/11, War By Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror and Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush. NewsReal Blog had the pleasure of interviewing him on a wide range of issues.
NRB: Your latest book, Crisis and Command, talks about how Presidents from George Washington through George W. Bush used their Constitutional Power. How do you think Washington and the framers thought about Presidential power?
Yoo: Washington set the precedent and traditions for the President. The framers thought the Presidency would be a fairly modest office when it came to domestic affairs and Congress would take the lead. In contrast the President would have a great deal of power with foreign affairs as long as there was a crisis. read more…
John Yoo is currently a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2001 to 2003 he was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Council at the U.S. Department of Justice. It was during this time that he co-authored the Bybee memo defining torture and American Habeas Corpus which was the legal basis for the CIA’s harsh interrogation techniques. He is the author of The Powers of War and Peace: Foreign Affairs and the Constitution after 9/11, War By Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror and Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush. NewsReal Blog had the pleasure of interviewing him on a wide range of issues.
Click here for Part 1 of this interview
NewsReal Blog: Should 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed be tried in Federal Court or a military commission?
John Yoo: The trial should be moved to Guantanamo Bay and done by a military commission. The rules are much more generous to protecting national security secrets. Military commissions have experts on the rules of warfare and how the war is fought. By the administration thinking about moving it shows how obviously misguided their original decision was.
NRB: Can you explain what you mean by national security secrets and rules of warfare? read more…
John Yoo is currently a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2001 to 2003 he was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Council at the U.S. Department of Justice. It was during this time that he co-authored the Bybee memo defining torture and American Habeas Corpus which was the legal basis for the CIA’s harsh interrogation techniques. He is the author of The Powers of War and Peace: Foreign Affairs and the Constitution after 9/11, War By Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror and Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush. NewsReal Blog had the pleasure of interviewing him on a wide range of issues.
NewsReal Blog: Congressman McDermott (D-WA) recently tried to sneak in a provision in the intelligence appropriations bill. The provision would allow for criminal prosecution of CIA officers if they committed acts of “cruel, inhuman, or degrading behavior.” What is your opinion of this provision? read more…
The British are singing the chorus to Binyam Mohamed’s version of “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me.” Remember how British intelligence informed the Americans about Saddam Hussein stockpiling WMD’s? Once again the British got it wrong. The mainstream American press went along for the ride with the CIA as the scapegoat.
Recently, the British appellate court made public a seven paragraph classified document detailing Ethiopian-born British resident Binyam Mohamed’s military tribunal case. Mohamed was a terrorist who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and charged with plotting to bomb American apartment buildings. He was released by the Obama administration without any trial for fear of torture allegation repercussions, and sent to Britain in 2009. read more…
