[Chefelf]

Suing Al Qaeda
Monday, August 09, 2004

This is a partial transcript of The Big Story With John Gibson, August 6, 2004, that has been edited for clarity.

Watch "The Big Story With John Gibson" weeknights at 5 p.m. ET!

JOHN GIBSON, HOST: Action in Afghanistan (search), and a wounded soldier and a widow of a man killed in action are now taking the battle to the courtroom. They're suing the estate of an Al Qaeda operative for damages. Layne Morris who was injured, and Donald Windor is his attorney. Donald, first to you, today's big question: how do you sue someone for an injury that was caused in war?

DONALD WINDOR, ATTORNEY FOR LAYNE MORRIS: Because we believe that Al Qaeda (search) are not a military force. They're terrorists, and the statute's directed to prevent terrorism. What the statute says is you can't sue if it's a declared war, if it's between nations or between military, and we don't think Al Qaeda qualifies under that definition.

GIBSON: Lane, you know, I told the story of what happened to you and the soldier that was killed in the book I wrote because this Khadr family is really quite famous in the Al Qaeda network. They're called — the old man; I believe you're suing his estate — is called "Al Kanadi," the Canadian. And this story is well-known in Canada, less known here.

http://www.foxnews.c...,128475,00.html

Only an American could concoct a plan as stupid as suing al Qaeda.

[srmoore]

I wanted to... or to sue Sadam.. but it was for time lossed for being inconvenienced or something like that...

[Emu]

Wait a minute....

Isn't Al Qaeda being recognised as a military force because of the fact that the US is at war with them, and the US is using military force against Al Qaeda?

If the US and Al Qaeda are not technically and formally at war, then can't the Al Qaeda sue the US as well?

*is baffled by the dodgy and circuitous logic*

[J m HofMarN]

Wow this opens the door for a whole lot of things, specifically lawsuits against highly mobile besieged organizations and individuals. Under this precident I would like to file a lawsuit against the Yeti for scaring me when I was a kid with all that scary footage of him. The Yeti must appear in virginia civil court to state his case.

And in other news president Bush is filing a lawsuit against Snyders of Hannover for attempted murder and aggravated assault.

[Antares]

We're not waging a "War," it's more like using the military to resolve our nations issues. This issue is them coming over here and blowing our people up, so we resolve that by removing Al-Qaeda's ugly face from this world. If this were a real war, we would say "All's fair..." and dropped a small hydrogen device in the mountains, and removed the mountains from this world as well.

Sorry, I get carried away when we talk about Al-Qaeda.

[J m HofMarN]

Ah, fabulous, a kill em all right wingist. Well let me put it this way. Al Qaeda killed maybe three thousand two hundred people in the WTC and in the air liners. I refuse to count the Pentagon because that's where wars are made and so it makes sense for an enemy to target such a place (plus I just plain don;t like the pentagon) So our death total, counting casualties from Iraq is about 4000 and since that counts military dead let's add the pentagon to make a total of 4500. Now look at the death toll for the Iraqi resistance forces and innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's over fourty thousand and that's well below the Red Cross' latest estimates. This does not count people who are being secretly detained and tortured nor does it include the casualties suffered by the valiant fighters for Palestinian liberty. So for every one of us killed we kill about ten of them. I'd say we're winning this war, so you should be quite happy.

I don't quite understand why you right wing nut jobs can't be a bit more creative in your solutions. As much as I dislike Hitler at least he could figure out several different methods of execution. All the right wing seems to be able to come up with is to lob a nuclear device at whatever is bothering you. Why not use some variety? I hear serrin gas is very cheap this time of year and with the budget deficit going into the googlezzabillions this might be a nice alternative. And have you considered the benefits of death camps lately? We have an excelent model that takes no time to set up. Also biological weapons are on sale half price. All this and more can be readily purchased at mass-murder-mart, the one stop shop for all your genocidal needs.

And even if we did somehow survive the nuclear fallout, avoid provoking a confrontation with Pakistan, Iran, North Korea or China, and not get shut out of the international community for comitting nuclear terrorism we'd still have to deal with terrorists. I really feel silly referencing Star Wars but let me point this out. When the empire blew up Alderaan did it frighten the rebels? No. And it will have the same effect on Qaeda. I do not see an Al Qaeda recruit getting frightened from his path of self destruction by the threat that someone will destroy him. Rather if we deploy a tactical nuclear device not only will the whole world label us a pariah (yes, even Britain) but every terrorist who can fly a plane or drive a limousine or a helicopter or load a hot dog stand with hot water is going to be clamoring to blow something up. And the worst part would be that I almost wouldn't blame them. If we whipe out all life on a mountain range just to kill a few beardy guys hiding out in caves than we have lost all morality.

The best chance to stop terrorism as I have said before is to stop funding terrorist regimes like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Also, pulling our troops out of the middle east would be a nice gesture as well.

[SimeSublime]

But whats the point of nukes if your not going to use them? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see a nuclear war, but why the hell do you guys have so fucking many to start with?

[J m HofMarN]

well it's cool to be able to say one could blow up the world 3 times over. And in order to have that cabability we spend untold billions of dollars.

[SimeSublime]

All I can think is what a waste.

[Vwing]

The best chance to stop terrorism as I have said before is to stop funding terrorist regimes like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Also, pulling our troops out of the middle east would be a nice gesture as well.

I'm sorry, how is Israel a terrorist regime? Aren't they the only democratic nation in the mideast right now? Shouldn't they be the standard for what we want the middle east to become? Because I've got an idea for you how to stop those countries. Instead of invading Iraq, we put soldiers around every single oil reserve. If the natives come along, we say, "Sorry, these are ours now. You want money? You want food? You want to live? Do what Israel did. Use science, use irrigation, start farming, start turning the land from brown to green, start living off yourself. Then that makes us and them less dependent on all, and they have a much better chance of starting a civilized nation. They say the borders of Israel are clear on the earth and not just on the map. Israel ends when the green stops. So make the rest of the area green, and maybe they'll be like Israel, and that would be a helluva blow to terrorists.

[J m HofMarN]

I'm sorry, how is Israel a terrorist regime? Aren't they the only democratic nation in the mideast right now? Shouldn't they be the standard for what we want the middle east to become? Because I've got an idea for you how to stop those countries.

Zionists blow up Palestinian houses at the rate of at least one per day. They are comitting an illegal occupation and genocide in Palestine. They are building a wall of appartheid to help them theive Palestinian lands. They force barbaric war on a people who can scarcely defend themselves and must often sacrifice their own lives just to fight back. They blockade the west bank and Gaza strip and thus about half of all Palestinian children suffer from malnourishment. They posess horrible weapons of mass destruction. They bomb large urban areas leaving nothing but craters and shattered lives. They steal land from their neighbors. They imprison people from their own country and others without trial. They currently hold over 7000 Palestinian citizens with no rights or way to freedom. They routinely torture their prisoners. They fire on crowds of unarmed Palestinian patriots. They use helicopter gunships, and fighter jets against an enemy with no air force. They use tanks and armored personnel carriers against an enemy who has none. All Israeli citizens upon reaching the age of eighteen are required to participate in the horrendous murder of Palestinians. Failure to join the zionist forces means indeterminate imprisonment.

That sounds like a hell of a terrorist regime.

Instead of invading Iraq, we put soldiers around every single oil reserve. If the natives come along, we say, "Sorry, these are ours now. You want money? You want food? You want to live? Do what Israel did. Use science, use irrigation, start farming, start turning the land from brown to green, start living off yourself. Then that makes us and them less dependent on all, and they have a much better chance of starting a civilized nation. They say the borders of Israel are clear on the earth and not just on the map. Israel ends when the green stops. So make the rest of the area green, and maybe they'll be like Israel, and that would be a helluva blow to terrorists.

So you're suggesting that rather than invading Iraq we storm into every other middle east nation, steal their natural resources and impose a system of government on them? Are you a member of George Bush's cabinet? Do you have any idea how immoral that is? Do you realize that no man would stand for that to happen to his country? If we did that every soldier we sent over there would find his post to be his tomb and I would not shed one tear for it. I'd call that justice.

Are you calling muslims uncivilized? Come on that's ignorant. They're just as civilized as you or I. Sure there are crazy muslims who think women should be covered in blankets at all times but we have chauvinists here too. Sure there are muslims who think the US should be a smoking crater but there are just as many Americans who think the rest of the fugging world should be a smoking crater. Muslims are not uncivilized and the two most un-democratic governments in the Islamic world (egypt and Saudi arabia, whose injustices spawns the Al Qaeda movement) are the 3rd and 2nd biggest receivers of US military aid after Israel. I have a great deal of trouble trying to say that Israel ahs the right to exist as a nation after all the horrible crimes they've committed but I think if their government would forgo racism and genocide and start acting civilized that they'd be making a step in the right direction. Until that day comes though I will hope every night that the valiant struggle for Palestinian sovereignty is continued.