More on Moussaoui

The general feel I get from the right-side blogosphere is that they wanted death for Moussaoui. I for one did not and think that in the future it will actually assist in the war on terror.

The Europeans are always hesitant to extradite a suspect if the chance of capital punishment is on the table. What can they say next time they have an al-Qaeda leader when we the people chose not to put a man who was part of a conspiracy that killed thousands to death? Of course, France excluded.

As for the argument that he will become a living martyr while in prison such as Mumia Abu Jamal is, I tend to think that unlike Jamal--the scumbag that murdered officer Danny Faulkner--the gravity of just what Moussaoui was involved in will be understood and remembered forever.

Anyone who supports him will be shown in the light as an idiot who deserves ridicule. Hell, the morons are already showing themselves and are being exposed for their inanity.

Americans hate being taunted, but what do the taunts mean? Nothing when taken in context. They are the ravings of a terrorist who didn't accomplish his mission. A failed terrorist who sounds like the kid who gets his ass kicked in the schoolyard and screams "wait til next time", except there will be no next time for Moussaoui.

As always, Ed says it much better than I.

Update: Peggy Noonan has her say and it's different than mine.

Update 2: Robert Spencer has a must-read in Front Page today. An excerpt about the claims that Moussaoui was insane because of a deprived childhood:

Moussaoui himself would have none of this, dismissing it as “a lot of American B.S.” Nevertheless, the strategy apparently worked: he was indeed spared the death penalty.

More:

Moussaoui made himself very clear. He identified himself as an adherent of the jihad ideology that fuels Islamic movements around the globe today, who are fighting in part because of the conviction enunciated decades ago by the Pakistani jihad thinker and politician Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi: he declared that non-Muslims have “absolutely no right to seize the reins of power in any part of Allah’s earth nor to direct the collective affairs of human beings according to their own misconceived doctrines.” If they do, “the believers would be under an obligation to do their utmost to dislodge them from political power and to make them live in subservience to the Islamic way of life.”

From this perspective, why should Moussaoui feel any remorse for what he did? As he put it, “There is no regret for justice.” He sees 9/11 as the Muslims doing their utmost to dislodge the infidels from political power. He believes that when he inflicts pain upon those who are at war with Islam, he is doing what pleases Allah. He is working for justice in this world.

Update 3: Scott at POV has a great take:

What we get with this jury's decision is a serious recalculation of what punishment fits which crime. After all, acting as an accomplice in the death of 2,700 Americans is nothing to sneeze at, yet it garners only life in a maximum security Prison. So, what does anything less than the most horrific crime in American history get you?

The Jury's decision has undercut the horrific scope of Moussaoui's crime by substituting childhood development problems shared by millions around the globe for criminal actions that only the most heinous of the world's population could even contemplate. In doing so they have failed to provide justice in favor of considering mitigating circumstances within our legal framework. Some may champion this as reflection of our values and what sets us apart from "them". I agree that this is a positive reflection our values, particularly our desire for a strong and functioning judicial system, but I also see this as a poor reflection of our judgment that does not so much set us apart from "them" but rather helps only to set us up.