January 30, 2003
WILLIAM YOUNG FOR SENATOR COMMITTEE:
Shoe Bomber Sentenced to Life in Prison (AP, January 31, 2003)Richard Reid, the al-Qaida follower who tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes, was sentenced to life in prison Thursday by a judge who warned him: "We are not afraid ... We are Americans. We have been through the fire before.''The 29-year-old British citizen cried, "You will be judged by Allah!'' before being dragged from the courtroom in handcuffs. [...]
"Your government has sponsored the rape and torture of Muslims in the prisons of Egypt and Turkey and Syria and Jordan with their money and with their weapons,'' said Reid, who converted to Islam eight years ago.
U.S. District Judge William Young would have none of it.
"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid,'' said the judge. "We are Americans. We have been through the fire before.
"You are not an enemy combatant - you are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war - you are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. You are a terrorist and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.''
The judge then pointed to the American flag behind him and said: "You see that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is long forgotten.''
"That flag will be brought down on the day of judgment,'' Reid replied.
We're thinkin' the judge had the better of this discussion. Posted by Orrin Judd at January 30, 2003 10:17 PM
If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Reid stated that Old Glory will continue flying from now through Judgment Day. I think he's right.
Posted by: pj at January 30, 2003 11:10 PMI'll just quote Lincoln and say: This too shall pass.
Nothing lasts forever.
More interesting was Reid's critique (as such) of US foreign policy, since this gives some insight into what motivates the jihadi.
Posted by: Peter Caress at January 31, 2003 10:54 AMHere's a longer transcript of the exchange between Reid and the judge:
">http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/31/reid.transcript/
Most interesting to me was the defense's offer to discuss "the other side."
Now, even making allowance for the obligation of the defense to go all out, and for the lousy case they were handled, this cannot be evaluated as other than insane.