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[David Minton <dminton AT mindspring.com>]

Very good then. If, by coincidence, an Afghani court produces sufficient
evidence to support a case of conspiracy against you, Thomas Beckett, you
are prepared to stand before their court, even though you have never set
foot in that country. Are you prepared to face their legal system? Whatever
evidence they have does not need to meet your standards, since it is their
laws you are on trial for breaking. Your innocence may not even be a factor
in the conviction.

Sounds strange, but remember, there are Americans in jail in Afghanistan
today facing charges pertaining to distributing Christian literature. I
believe this is a capital crime in that country (at least I believe it is if
an Afghani is convicted, I am not sure about the Americans).

My point is just it seems strange to enforce the laws of one culture on
another. We have been talking about laws, as if they are absolute, and not
relative. We can talk about International law, but the concept is somewhat
artificial. In some ways, it is no more just than military force.

David

On 9/14/01 12:05 AM, "Thomas Beckett" <thomas AT tbeckett.com> wrote:

> David Minton wrote:
>> This is a very sticky situation to enter. If it turns out that Osama bin
>> Laden is the person we want to prosecute, whose laws do we use?
> 
> It is actually quite simple, we use our laws.  That's how the embassy
> bombing suspects and the 1993 WTC bombers were prosecuted.
> 
> If you are overseas but conspire and plan actions which affect
> Americans on American soil (or in our embassies), you subject yourself
> to our laws and our courts. Even if you personally never set foot in
> this country.  The courts look to where the intentions are directed and
> the effects are felt.
> 
> TaB
> 
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