IT IS WAR AND  NOTHING ELSE

Jihad is a word that we all hear frequently but do we really understand its meaning? The meaning of jihad is described in Arabic as follows “a holy war undertaken by Muslims against unbelievers”. I believe that this declaration of war is something that we should take very seriously and treat it as a war.

Last month the 23-year-old Nigerian named, Abdul Mudallad was taken into custody at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. According to statements by the press he received training by Al Qaeda in Yemen and was given instructions on how to detonate a bomb that he concealed in his underwear.

It appears that this young man boarded an aircraft in Lagos Nigeria and transferred to a Northwest flight in Amsterdam bound for Detroit. Security missed him in Amsterdam and it is reported that he was not on any terrorist watch list however, it has later been learned that he was on a watch list but not the one being used by the authorities in Amsterdam. Abdul’s father had notified authorities that he was concerned about his sons radical behavior and was afraid that he may become involved in terrorist activity against the US.

In spite of the warnings and the knowledge that this individual posed a threat no action was taken against him and he was allowed to board the flight in  Amsterdam. When approaching the Detroit metropolitan area this passenger attempted to ignite the explosives that he was carrying in his underwear but much to his surprise the explosive did not detonate but rather sent him on fire. Passengers subdued him and the crew declared an emergency and landed at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport without further incident.

This was an incident that could have been extremely serious but because of a fluke his attempt to blow up aircraft was a failure. I don’t really believe that all of the faults surrounding the safety and the security either in Lagos or Amsterdam are as much of a concern as the handling of this passenger after he was arrested.

This passenger admitted ties to Al Qaeda and that in itself makes him  a Jihadist meaning that he is a soldier and a member of an army that has declared war on the West. He was arraigned in a US court and will be given the same consideration as a common thief. In my opinion, this man should be removed from US soil and tried by a military tribunal. Simply because these soldiers don’t wear uniforms and mingle among us using terror as their weapon makes them an enemy, a soldier and they should be a prisoner of war.

I have the same feelings concerning the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay who are being moved to New York to stand trial in our court system. Once again, they are soldiers and not common criminals consequently, they should not be afforded the accommodations of our courts.

There are those who argue that we don’t treat prisoners that way. They claim our laws and our treatment of prisoners stands way above that of a military tribunal. Under normal circumstances I would agree but when we capture prisoners of war they should be treated as such. To dilute our system of jurisprudence by offering foreign fighters the benefit of a civil court is a travesty.

I’m sure that we all remember the war trials at Nuremberg. Those were prisoners who had declared war on the free world and were tried by the same people who faced the muzzle of their guns and the gas of their extermination camps. Tthat was a military tribunal.

I say try this guy along with the rest of them in Guantánamo Bay Cuba and not in Michigan, New York or Illinois.