Six degrees of separation - freed terrorists & Congress

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Two Failed Terrorism Trials Raise Worry in Europe
By Mark Trevelyan, Security Correspondent, Berlin (Reuters)

As the world focused on the deaths of Schiavo and the Pope, and amidst the all-too-quiet foo-fer-rah over the sunsetting of the Patriot Act, European judiciaries in both the Netherlands and Germany have quietly freed two terrorists suspects.

In the German trial, the suspect was an AQ trainee, in possession of bomb diagrams, chemicals and items that could easily be used as timers.

Although Garnaoui was jailed for three years and nine months on lesser charges, the terrorism case foundered on prosecutors' inability to establish the target and timing of the supposed attack, and contradictory and inconsistent evidence from secret informants on his alleged attempts to recruit accomplices.

Rainer Wendt, vice president of the German Police Union, said the existence of an attack plan should have been sufficient. "This verdict is completely incomprehensible to the police, and dangerous in its effect," he told Reuters.

In the Netherlands, the teen, in possession of illegal weapons, was found merely to have "... an above-average interest in religious extremist violence", according to the judge.

The universal problems revolve around the reality that intelligence and possession are not sufficient evidence for conviction with current European laws... just as it is in the US. Evidently, the payment for personal freedoms is waiting until terrorists actually blow up targets and kill more before we can legally act.

While I agree it's truly a fine line between intrusive laws and what will constitute proof to convict in a court of law.. no matter what country we're discussing... I sure as heck know that waiting for the terrorist event to happen is not an option to be considered.

But let's not confuse the end result with the foundation of the problem. The six degrees of separation from judicial failures to nab bad guys, to those that sit in America's Congress, is irrefutable. Allow me to 'splain....

The judiciary has to act within the current legal framework. So the cure to the problem of prosecuting terrorists lies completely in the hands of those creating the laws.

In the US, that means we are dependent upon Congress. But, as a recent poll by AP notes .... and believe me it was hard for me to keep a straight face using the worlds AP and "a poll" in the same sentence.... the respondees don't demonstrate much confidence in Congress of late.

Well, welcome to my views of Congress.... what putz's.

It is, of course, fascinating to note that AP insinuates the results of such distrust is the fault of the Republicans since they hold the majority. And, of course, they allude to the Congressional mandate to the judiciary branch on behalf of the Schindler's battle for Schiavo's life as potentially a large factor.

It might be pertinent to note that the specifics of the distrust was not nailed down to "why" we distrust Congress in poll questions. Thus, the AP's side commentary is purely speculation, inserted to maintain the usual AP slant on things.

But I beg to differ from the AP's assessment. I think our mutual distrust of Congress is anything but partisan. Instead, it is an inherent distrust of politicans who lie, skim and spin worse than Linda Blair's head in the Exorcist.

Two major failures of Congress? First, we are disgruntled with the Congressional infighting, ineptitude, and poor construction of what laws they DO pass. They have been failing their constituents for decades, ignoring the increasing terrorist threat and ignoring the inability for intel organizations to share information, and by slashing our military defenses in the 90s.

In short, their *sole* concern should be our nation's defense, and international trade. Not ridiculous studies such as $4.6 million to study the wool industry!

This, of course, smoothly segues me into the second major failure of Congress. What the heck do they DO with our taxpaying dollars?

Well wonder no more. The latest release of the 2005 Congressional Pig Book Summary , compiled by the Citizens Against Government Waste, is free, and available online. The Pigbook link provides a searchable database by keyword, appropriations bill, city or state. Reading this can just make a body's stomach churn.

Thus the story of freed terrorists comes full circle. And with the idiots in charge of our national safety, our legal enactments, and the nation's purse strings - our terrorists will still run free, and Congress will still pass the blame for such onto whomever occupies the WH. In the interim, they will continue to spend cash like drunken sailors. Mind you, not for the more important national security and defense - but for more inane studies on wool, flight attendent and railroad employee fatigue, or Central California's ozone.