Holiday in the Sun

You know, if I was Bin Laden I’d get out of Afghanistan and run quickly to a country with a strong policy on lawful extradition, such as Sweden or Switzerland. That way, Colin Powell would have to present his evidence to the local courts and Bin Laden’s lawyers could fight it all the way. The legal battle could stretch 3-5 years. After all, the US has been trying to extradite some of the Embassy bombers for years now.

I don’t think a military strike to pre-empt the course of justice can realistically be taken against anyone except pariah states using a weird combination of aggression, racism, and disdain.

After all, as that Salon article points out, when fanatical Irish-American groups in the US were funding a massive terrorist campaign against Britain throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Britain did not (surprise, surprise!) threaten the US with military intervention.

And despite its best legal efforts, very few terrorists were ever extradited and very few of their supporters sanctioned legally.