Goose Creek Update
Okay, so al Bozo gets arrested with ‘that stuff’. He pleads guilty to one charge and the other charges are dismissed. For that one charge, he can get up to 15 years in a Federal slammer and a fine of $250,000 (which he probably doesn’t have and the government has little to no chance of collecting). Not mentioned in this account, but simply because I’m in the biz; al Bozo also gets deported when this is done. Also not mentioned, but equally important is we caught the two and the terrorists know they’ve lost another round. That counts in this sort of warfare.
So how much would a trial cost for all this? If al Bozo had been convicted - in another three or four years - of all charges, would we be any safer?
Possibly we did get some intell from this loser. That’s icing on the cake.
Let me ask you, Drew: What would you like to have seen happen? Within the guidelines of American jursiprudence and national security, what alternative would you propose?
Bear in mind you and I agree on most things, I asking a serious question, this isn’t an attempt to embarass you.
Archie, I don’t have a good answer. Maybe we should have never let these guys in in the first place. I know that’s rather mean spirited, but hey, it’s Ok for Saudi Arabia, so why not us? You and I can’t even go to certain cities because we’re dirty infidels.
OTOH, 15 years seems pretty good for attempted terrorism. My bigger beef is with the feds who immediately claimed this wasn’t a terrorist action when even a blind guy could see that it was.
Yeah, we have that whole freedom of/from religion thing. But what if religion was defined as a belief system that did not preach harm to other people, or require animal sacrifice? Then islam wouldn’t be a religion, and it wouldn’t be allowed.
The very first military problem our nation had (ignoring that little problem with fwance) was against the musslemen. Shores of Tripoli and all that. Isn’t there a way we can wise up?
Our government has had 7 years (or 17 if you go WTC bombing 1) to figure out how to change the laws to deal with USA vs a religion. There has to be a way. This week’s SCOTUS decision is not part of that way.Mixed feelings here, boss.
I hate terrorists, and if that’s really what they are I’ll gladly pull the trigger on them myself.
That said, our .gov has bullied a lot of folks into “pleas” lately, and otherwise eventually let them go without significant charge.
I also hate tyrrany, and would likewise fight against THAT.
I know a LOT of folks who routinely have “materials in their vehicle that can be used to make explosives”—it’s called “gunpowder.” I just got a Cabela’s gift Cert for Father’s Day and plan to spend it on exactly that.
I don’t think they should be punished for being (non-terrorist) muslims and reloaders.
I just don’t know…
DD
Posted by Dedicated_dad
06/14/2008 at 05:54 PM
Correction: Goose Creek, South Carolina, home of the Naval Weapons Station and one of our largest depositories for nukes. Sorry, had to make the correction, we were stationed there for 4 years and my husband retired from there after a 26 year career.
It’s the same thing as always, they can’t get you for what they *know*, only for what they can PROVE.
Sorry about that Mrs. Pal2Pal. You are correct. My error.
They caught these two in the act. Or just before the act. This isn’t a case of having 40lbs of gunpowder in the garage like me. These two were up to no good, and I’m certain of that.
Call me Sara, everyone does.
I have not been a Mrs. since 2002.
Of all the naval bases I’ve been on over the years, the NWS at Goose Creek had the tightest overall security. It is the only base I was ever refused entry to even with a base sticker on the car and a proper Navy ID card. When they were moving nuclear missiles, offloading from or loading on a ship, for instance, the base would shut down and the Marine escorts had orders to shoot to kill anyone who approached within so many feet. For some reason, forget what, I had to drive my husband to work one morning and they were in the middle of a nuke transport. I was not allowed to drive him to the pier, as I normally would do, but had to leave him at the main gate and then he had to wait for an official escort and walk the final couple of miles to his ship under escort. However, the rest of the time, I could drive on and off at will. Drive right to the pier or the commissary/exchange or drop the kids at the movies, etc., although as I recall there were roads that I would pass that had signs “official vehicles only.” I never tested those signs, not after being told about “shoot to kill” orders. It was also the only base where I was consistently asked to pop the trunk for inspection before being allowed thru the gate.
I got the impression with this case from the beginning that it was being downplayed in the media as “just firecrackers,” but that the Feds took it extra seriously from the git go and that there was alot more concern than anyone let on publicly.
