Put Accused Terrorists in Virginia? Sure, Go Ahead

With the Obama administration's plans to shut down the Camp Delta detention facility at Guantanamo Bay presumably moving forward apace, some detainees might end up in the commonwealth -- perhaps in a detention facility in Northern Virginia to await trial there. Last week Virginia Reps. Eric Cantor, Frank Wolf, and Randy Forbes called on Gov. Tim Kaine to join them in opposing the idea of moving any detainees to any facility in Virginia.

Public sentiment probably agrees with the congressmen. Indeed, a common argument against closing Camp Delta holds that the alternative would be to bring "the worst of the worst" to America's shores, which would be intolerable. But the argument, and the fears underlying it, never have made much sense.

Are some of the detainees dangerous? Sure. Most people held in high-security lockdown are. But for several reasons, it is silly to be especially scared of moving Guantanamo detainees to continental U.S. soil.

First, nobody lost any sleep over the fact that domestic terrorists such as Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber Ted Kaczinski, or Weather Underground members such as Kathy Boudin have been imprisoned in the continental United States. McVeigh murdered 168 people in the worst terrorist attack in America prior to 9/11. That is 167 more than were allegedly murdered by Omar Khadr, a Guantanamo prisoner since age 15 who is accused of having thrown a grenade during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2002.

SECOND, while not all those being held at Guantanamo resemble Khadr, not all of them qualify as terrorist masterminds like 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, either. They run the gamut -- and include 17 Chinese Uighurs cleared for release by the Bush administration. (The Uighurs are still being held only because of a political logjam.)

Third, in some ways even terrorist masterminds might actually be less dangerous than ordinary criminals after any length of incarceration. A child molester or a psychotic killer who broke out of prison could resume his crime spree immediately. But a terrorist mastermind requires a network, sources of funding, and hard-to-acquire materiel to carry out his plans. Once his identity is known, his former associates are likely to steer very wide of him, on the assumption that he will be watched.

Given enough time, a terrorist mastermind might rebuild a sleeper cell and put new plans in motion. But even in the extremely unlikely event that he managed to escape, he could not simply pick up where he left off.

The fourth reason not to worry about a terrorist breaking out of a supermax prison is that such escapes simply don't happen. Americans who fear such an event have either seen "Con Air" one time too many -- or put too little faith in the men and women who protect them.

FINALLY, those who shrink from the very idea of housing terrorists on U.S. soil ought to be aware that America already does just that. Some examples:

My thoughts do not aim for your assent -- just place them alongside your own reflections for a while.

--Robert Nozick.

Contact A. Barton Hinkle at (804) 649-6627 or .