Moving Terrorist Detainees to Virginia By Ken Cuccinelli   According to the Washington Post, the Obama Administration is pushing to transfer some of the terrorist detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into the Commonwealth of Virginia for trial in a U.S. federal criminal court, possibly in Alexandria. (See Daily Virginia Roundup, The Washington Post, 08/04/09; Security Worries in the Suburbs, The Washington Post, 03/25/09) I am strongly opposed to the idea of bringing any of these terrorists into the Commonwealth. I believe this Administration plan, if implemented, would: ignore the benefit of using Guantanamo Bay; impede our conduct in that war; be cost-prohibitive to our government and physically dangerous to our citizenry; be largely ineffective in punishing these terrorists; and be totally unprecedented in U.S. history. First of all, part of the benefit of having a facility such as Guantanamo Bay is to hold people such as terrorist detainees. It is the ideal location. It is isolated from civilian populations and it is impossible to escape from. Second, moving these detainees to the Commonwealth would impede our conduct of the War Against Terrorism. The fact is this nation is currently at war with Islamic jihadist groups worldwide, including Al Qaeda. As a nation at war we are utilizing our military to physically attack our enemies, to gather intelligence, to detain captured opponents until the fighting is done, and to prevent future enemy attacks. This is what our military is trained to do. However, by transferring these Gitmo detainees to our criminal courts for prosecution, the Obama Administration will be asking the military to perform law enforcement functions in the War Against Terrorism. This is not what they are currently trained to do, and it is not what they should be asked to do. Third, moving these detainees is both cost-prohibitive to our government and physically dangerous to our citizenry. As the Washington Post has noted, Alexandria “city officials and some legislators are concerned that terror trials would take years, shut down roads and cost millions and could invite attacks from terrorist sympathizers. Business owners in the dense area around the courthouse -- newly filled with hotels, restaurants and luxury apartments -- fear disruptions amid a declining economy.” (Security Worries in the Suburbs, The Washington Post, 03/25/09) The physical danger to our citizenry is also not to be dismissed. Let us not forget the U.S. trial of Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, a co-founder of al-Qaeda. As a defendant in the civilian criminal trial in the U.S., Salim was given great access to his lawyers and he used this access to attempt an unsuccessful escape that resulted in physical injuries to two guards, one of whom was permanently maimed in the assault. Fourth, moving these detainees into the U.S. court system would not be a very effective strategy in fighting and punishing the terrorists. Andy McCarthy, who was a Manhattan criminal prosecutor of terrorists in the 1990’s, has written that “we used the criminal justice system as our principal enforcement approach … for eight years — from the bombing of the World Trade Center until the shocking destruction of that complex on 9/11. During that time frame, while the enemy was growing stronger and attacking more audaciously, we managed to prosecute successfully less than three dozen terrorists (29 to be precise). And with a handful of exceptions, they were the lowest ranking of players.” (Obama’s America Is September 10th America, National Review Online, 06/16/08) Finally, moving these detainees into the U.S. criminal court system is historically unprecedented. The Constitution, the court system it has created, and the individual rights it protects, are specifically intended for the benefit of American citizens and/or legal residents (who receive similar rights). Detainees captured on a foreign battlefield, including all the men held in Guantanamo, are, of course, in neither category. In over two hundred years of history, the U.S. has never once afforded foreign enemy combatants such benefits. As a candidate for public office, I feel obligated to express my opposition to the possible transfer and trial of these Gitmo detainees in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And if I am elected Attorney General, I will explore any legal options we might have to resist this ill-considered Administration plan. (Editor's note: Mr. Cuccinelli is the GOP candidate for attorney general).

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