Finally, the 9/11 conspirators are going to have their day in court. What an uproar has been unleashed by Attorney general Eric Holder’s decision to allow  Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his followers to be tried in a civilian court in the United States. The very idea that we at long last are returning to a bedrock American tradition–a trial by jury–in the prosecution of the alleged criminals who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon has Obama’s critics foaming at the mouth. It will endanger the citizens of New York, it will be a recruiting tool for al Qaeda, these guys are warriors who don’t deserve a civilian trial, what if they’re acquitted?–and on and on.

I’d like to believe that most of these arguments are purely political, that if the Democrats were arguing against giving these men a fair trial, they would be accused of not having faith in the American system of justice. I’d like to believe that, and not that the Republicans have lost their moorings in the war on terror and their relentless campaign of fear-mongering. One thing is certain: torture will come up in these trials, and the Bush administration and their Congressional enablers will be embarrassed once again. In the end, though, most of the world will admire an America that has regained the courage to live up to its principles. The ones who hate us and our way of life will be unmoved, no matter what we do. Let the trials begin.