Nicholas Mah
Scapegoat: One that is made to bear the blame of others.
I hadn’t watched the news or read the paper for a while, so I thought I’d check in on the United States, and see who we’d killed most recently, and who we are planning to kill.
It turns out that 16 people were killed when the troops attacked vans “thought to be carrying fleeing Al Qaeda fighters.” That’s the funny thing about journalism — we use the word “thought” when we really don’t know. But heck, whoever said we shouldn’t shoot first and ask questions later?
Goes along well with what I’m assuming is Bush’s John Wayne imitation, but maybe it’s just his gift with words. He was quoted saying, “There’s still a lot more fightin’ to do.”
But enough about all that overseas stuff. Let’s turn our eyes back to the United States, and the impending trial of Mr. Zacarias Moussaoui, against whom the death penalty will be sought for his involvement in the Sept.11 attacks. Now, I’m not really one to promote the death penalty, but I figured if he was involved, there’s no way he’s getting out alive.
So I took a gander at the actual indictment against Zac. He is being charged with conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy, conspiracy to destroy aircraft, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to murder United States employees and conspiracy to destroy property. These are some pretty serious charges, and again, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the death penalty for them.
But then I read the rest of the indictment …
It is 31 pages long, detailing the history of Al Qaeda up to Sept. 11, and including a history of Moussaoui’s involvement. But essentially, Moussaoui was not involved. They do have proof that he was in an Al Qaeda-affiliated camp in April 1998. That’s not good for him. He also made some inquiries into airplane operation and flying, and he even purchased some flight simulating equipment. Now, if these charges right here stick, he’s done for, and maybe he should be put to death.
However, I don’t think that’s the point. The 31-page indictment only mentions Moussaoui’s name a handful of times, and half the time it’s referring to him doing something entirely inconsequential. I quote: “48. In or about March 2001, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI joined a gym in Norman, Oklahoma.” Can somebody please tell me what this information has to do with the above charges?
It seems to me that we are trying to pin all the wrong doings that have occurred on the one guy who we happened to have captured. Osama bin Laden is listed as a co-conspirator in the indictment alongside each charge, so are we to understand that this man who associated himself at times prior to Sept. 11 with some persons actually involved should receive the exact same punishment we would deal out to bin Laden, or any other person in leadership positions?
I suppose I shouldn’t get worked up about this. I’m sure that very few people in this country care if the man lives or dies. They will though, of course, as soon as they watch the trial on TV, and 30 families affected by the bombings go before the jury to explain what a tragedy they’ve been through. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s been horrible, but I don’t think Moussaoui had a whole lot to do with it.
March 21, 2002