March 13, 2009

As President Obama plans for the release of who knows how many terrorist suspects from Guantanamo, it is useful to hear what they are saying about their mission in life.

In a declassified response to the government’s nine accusations against five of them – including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of 9/11 – the men say this:

“To us (these accusations) are a badge of honor, which we carry with pride….killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you…are all considered to be great legitimate duty in our religion. These actions are offerings to God…it would have been the greatest duty to fight you over your infidelity. However, today, we fight you over defending Muslims, their land, their holy sites and their religion as a whole.”

And we’re seriously considering releasing some of these thugs? Already the Defense Department has reported some who were released returned to the battlefield, committing or plotting to commit other acts of terrorism. We’re not going to stop this by letting them go. We will only protect ourselves by stopping them before they kill more of us. What’s so hard to understand?

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.