Gitmo Ain't No Nuremberg

Bin Laden's driver gets a slap on the wrist
Apparently, in the 21st century, "I vas only follovink orders" is a viable defense. That's the only way to explain the wimpy sentence of 5 1/2 years handed down to confessed Al-Qaida member Salim Hamdan, Osama Bin Laden's personal chauffeur, yesterday. Check out this quote from the MSNBC article linked at the top of this post:

Referring to the decks of cards the U.S. military has distributed with images of most-wanted terrorists, Davis said: "Hamdan would be the two of clubs."

But even the two of clubs is in the deck--and there's only 52 cards! That means one of the top 52 terrorists on our list is eligible to be released in as little as five months. Five. Months. For someone who was there and working with the plotters of one of the worst mass murders ever committed. The verdict and sentence of the first Guantanamo trial was a chance to send a message to the world that terrorism will be punished harshly, if not swiftly. Instead, the message we've sent is that we're going soft, right as we head for a period of transition at the highest levels of our government. I just hope this message isn't paid for, in the end, with American lives.