Padilla belligerent but fit to stand trial

This is Abdullah Al Muhajir, whose birth name is Jose Padilla. Before I ramble on about the Padilla case, as it’s unfolding in South Carolina, I’d like to point out that Padilla might have been involved in the O.K. City bombing. Composite drawings of John Doe #2 are dead ringers for Padilla, and he’d dropped out of site during the period when McVeigh and Nichols were driving around in their truck full of fertilizer. Strangely, it appeared as though the U.S. wasn’t interested in following up any of the leads that would connect the other people involved. This could, in the opinion of some, be because the Clinton administration only wanted to nail two white guys as terrorists, and didn’t want the entire plot, including Iraq’s involvement to be exposed, as at the time, then-President Clinton was holding hands with Arafat.

Padilla’s behavior is consistent with that of other Al Qaeda prisoners.

Defense lawyers have said Padilla suffered brain injuries caused by abuse and extreme isolation during the 3 1/2 years he was held by presidential order in a U.S. military prison, before he was charged in the civilian court with aiding Islamist terrorists.

His abuse claim, we’ve seen before, and is an Al Qaeda tactic drawn from their training manuals. The reasoning behind such a claim is to leverage international law against abuse. It is also a reminder that Islamists believe they should be dominant; and treated better than non-muslims. What is mystifying is how easily and often they force governments to capitulate to their demands. Reliably, the Socialist Worker Online is also complaining about his alleged abuse. The leftist media is dutifully reporting the same as the socialist worker; that the case has tested the limits of presidential authority in the fight against terrorism.

The Judge, Marcia Cooke, appointed a prison psychologist, Dr. Rodolfo Buigas, to assess Padilla’s mental state and whether or not he is fit to stand trial.

Buigas said Padilla has an anxiety disorder, an anti-social personality and difficulty dealing with authority, and he mistrusts everyone. He twitched and grimaced “for dramatic effect” when asked about things he found distasteful but understands the charges against him well enough to discuss the nuances of legal challenges filed in his case, Buigas said.

Padilla is belligerent, not even answering simple questions about his background such as what is your birth date?

Of course, the two doctors who examined him for the defence, claim that he’s been rendered incapacitated, a cowering, broken man sitting bolt upright with his eyes bugging out, physically unable to review tapes or transcripts that will be used as evidence against him. Years of confinement may have taken a toll because in Padilla’s mind, his own defence attorneys are part of a government conspiracy to indict him. However, this is hardly evidence of torture, it is more evidence of his Al Qaeda training. And a pre-existing paranoid condition which manifested itself long before he was arrested at O’hare airport.

His lawyers’ claims of post traumatic stress syndrome, as a result of torture and abuse appear to be terrorist lies, or Al Takiyya. Al Qaeda uses torture and abuse beyond the realm of a sadist’s fantasy against coalition soldiers, Brits, Italians, Germans and Americans, and has even taped and broadcast those for the world to see. Yet, when they are captured and detained at places like the notorious Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, they turn into whining, simpering, crying sods who complain about the treatment of their captors. This, even though they’re eating much better than they have in their entire lives and gain weight while incarcerated, and receive medical treatment, which they also complain is abuse. Padilla claimed, for example, that he was getting a shot of LSD when, in fact, it was a flu shot. So it would appear, if we are to believe him, treatment at the South Carolina brig is eerily similar to the same mistreatment his terrorist brothers complain about at Guantanamo Bay, or Abu Ghraib. This clearly their intention: They would like everyone to remember the pictures of Lynndie England with a naked terrorist on a leash, and the pictures that travelled the world of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.

And like his orange jumpsuit clad brethren at Guantanamo bay, Padilla has had access to an imam and the koran. Believing his claims of abuse would mean that you’d need to subscribe to the same belief system as the people who are involved with disarmament, peace and conflict resolution, and global warming.

We are left with the knowledge that the prison doctor declared that Padilla is, in fact, mentally able to stand trial. This is in contradiction to the two doctors who have testified in his defense with wild claims about his mental condition as a result of torture and abuse. He demonstrates symptoms of anxiety and mild personality disorders, but those probably existed before he was thrown in the brig in South Carolina, and might have been the personality factors that drew him to Al Qaeda in the first place. The man is antisocial; and is following the Manchester manual.

Prosecutors suggested the symptoms showed that Padilla was following an al-Qaida guide on how to act if captured. They produced a copy of the “Manchester manual,” which they said directs such operatives to claim mistreatment or torture and refuse to cooperate with lawyers or authorities.

The Judge refused to allow the Manchester manual point as evidence.

The New York Times depict Padilla as a pathetic crying paranoid individual. He is afraid his defence attorneys are part of a government plot. Padilla, in court, has not displayed the ’sweating’, ‘twitching’ and bug-eyes which was part of the rationale used to declare him a victim or post traumatic stress, even though some uncomfortable matters have been discussed in open court. In court, he turns and waves to his mother, and has animated discussions with his attorneys. In one point that was made in court, Dr. Buigas described a comment to his boss that Padilla seemed happier than the whole psychological department. Defence attorneys were speaking with Padilla during this testimony and fired back that he’d been allowed a radio, that is why he was happy; he was allowed to shower with a shower curtain; that’s why he was happy.

Poor Jose Padilla, prior to that, he was forced to shower with no shower curtain, and had no MTV. The U.S. government should be ashamed.

Now that he’s finally in court to stand trial, it seems as though he is not only aware of his surroundings, but he’s working with his attorneys to defend himself. He is obedient to his captors, and follows directions and instructions. We should ask, where are the post traumatic stress symptoms? If he’s so devastated and he’s unable to stand trial because of them, why is it they aren’t visible anymore?