It's always great to read Pat Murphy's columns to remind oneself that the liberal media still put ideology ahead of common sense. I think Pat really outdid himself with the Nov. 2 piece on the enemy combatant trial. As usual, his arguments are flawed by his exclusion of important facts, a few of which are detailed below.
Enemy combatants are not entitled to a civilian trial; even some liberals will concede that combatants don't have this right unless the Justice Department changes the rules. Mr. Eric Holder, the attorney general, did change the rules for some unknown reason that only he and our commander in chief know.
As reported in the press, several enemy combatants have already requested to plead guilty.
What is this "bacchanal and circus" going to cost the taxpayers? It is estimated that security in New York City alone will cost $75 million to $100 million. Figure another several years of trial time and you can get into real money—$200 million plus.
In the spirit of fairness and balanced journalism, it should be pointed out that this is a dumb move by Holder and Obama. It gives their left-wing lawyer friends the ability to argue form over substance in a court of law, while allowing the enemy combatants a forum to "badmouth" our great country to the rest of the world and having taxpayers pick up the bill.
Hopefully, future contributions from Pat will include more pertinent facts, common sense and balance.
William J. Barrett
Sun Valley
