Weak or Strong Justice?

Bumgardner February 22, 2005
Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division drive their M-1A Abrams tank through the Taunus Mountains north of Frankfurt, Germany, during Exercise Ready Crucible.

An American tank rolling through the icy forests of Germany, once was a reminder of the justified destruction of a growing, menacing, and yes, evil organization. However, today, while U.S. tanks still tread across the paths of a free Deutschland, their presence seems to spark little commemorative instinct for justice or vigilance:

“BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has quietly released a Hizbollah member jailed for life for the murder of a U.S. Navy diver, disregarding Washington's desire that he either be extradited or remain behind bars, officials said on Tuesday. The government said there was no link between Hammadi's release and that of a German hostage in Iraq just days later. [Hmmmm…] …Under German law, he became eligible for release after serving 15 years. He spent over 18 years in jail in Germany.” [These are our allies in the war on terror? What would it take to get 20 years in a German prison???] I don’t know how many of you remember the story regarding the murdered Navy diver so let me refresh:

“On June 15, 1985, Hezbollah hijackers seized the TWA flight in Athens. Identifying Robert Dean Stethem as an American serviceman, they brutally beat and tortured the 23-year-old Stethem to death. Then, they threw his body off the plane, like garbage [very disturbing as it was seen on t.v.]. Stethem was so badly beaten that he could only be identified from fingerprints. He was on his way home after a tour of duty with the US Navy in the Middle East.
But Stethem never made it home. His next and final stop was Arlington National Cemetery.”,(read more from Debbie Schlussel regarding Hezbollah)

This story crosses paths with a different version of justice: the recent death sentence carried out on co-founder of the Crips’ gang , convicted murderer, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee (gag) Stanley “Tookie” Williams. Tookie, awaiting execution for the 1979 murders, had finally exhausted all appeals in the legal system. The usual ‘hugs-for-thugs’ celebrities and race-baiting activists were fawning all over Tookie for his ‘redemptive’ showmanship and pleading for his life as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refused clemency stating: "The possible irregularities in Williams’ trial have been thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts, and there is no reason to disturb the judicial decisions that uphold the jury’s decisions that he is guilty of these four murders (warning: graphic photos) and should pay with his life."

Back in Schwarzenegger’s hometown of Graz Austria, the politicians protested Arnold’s life and death decision by enacting a petition to rename its soccer stadium that had honored the Gov since 1997. In turn, Schwarzenegger replied: "In all likelihood, during my term as governor, I will have to make similar and equally difficult decisions," Schwarzenegger said in the letter. "To spare the responsible politicians of the city of Graz further concern, I withdraw from them as of this day the right to use my name in association with the Liebenauer Stadium."

Terrorists will no doubt take note on which societies have a more tolerant and elastic culture when it comes to punishing murderers. Their lack of conviction concerning the properties and character of good and bad (moral relativity) make them 'easy pickin's' for potential dhimmitude.