That's what defense attorneys want the jury to believe.
The prosecution is arguing that Moussaoui is sane and knows exactly what he's doing. He and his cohorts intend to destroy America. In other words, they aren't pitiable victims of an illness. They choose to do evil.
ALEXANDRIA , Va. -- Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui insists he does not want to be executed, but for the second time he took the stand at his death- penalty trial and spouted off in a way that could eliminate any chance for mercy.
Moussaoui mocked the tearful testimony of 9/11 victims and their families and wished for similar attacks every day until America falls. He gave a detailed explanation of his hatred for America, flipping through a Quran on the witness stand trying to find justification for his views.
...the most visceral testimony came as Moussaoui again reveled in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, just one day after the jury concluded a week of gut- wrenching testimony from 9/11 families and victims.
Moussaoui called an Army officer who crawled on his belly to safety beneath searing smoke "pathetic" and ridiculed a Navy officer who wept as she described the loss of two colleagues.
"I think it was disgusting for a military person" to cry, Moussaoui said of the testimony of Navy Lt. Nancy McKeown. "She is military, she should expect people at war with her to want to kill her."
Asked if he was happy to hear her sobbing, he said, "Make my day."
Are these the statements of a person with a mental illness?
Are these the words of an evil individual?
Prosecutor Rob Spencer asked Moussaoui: "So you would be happy to see 9/11 again?"
"Every day until we get you," the 37-year-old Frenchman responded with enthusiasm.
...During his 2 1/2 hours on the stand, Moussaoui offered a lengthy explanation of why he hates Americans. Islam requires Muslims to be the world's superpower, he said as he paged through the Quran.
"We have an obligation to be the superpower. You have to be subdued," Moussaoui said. "America is a superpower and you want to eradicate Islam."
He also criticized U.S. support for Israel, which he called "the Jewish state of Palestine." "Every child who has been killed in Palestine has been killed because of you," he said. Israel is "just a missing star in the American flag," he added.
The question really boils down to this: Is Moussaoui sick, or is he evil?
Is a mental illness responsible for his behavior, or is he?
Moussaoui paged through the Quran like it was his playbook. He believes that justification for 9/11 and any future attacks being plotted against the U.S. is found in its pages.
That must be horrible for moderate Muslims to see their holy book being used as an excuse to slaughter innocent men, women, and children. I know I would be horrified if someone used the Bible to justify murder.
When he says, "Every child who has been killed in Palestine has been killed because of you," and Israel is "just a missing star in the American flag," he sounds a lot like those on the far Left. Those could be lines from a Cindy Sheehan speech.
Is she mentally ill for espousing those views?
I don't think that the prosecution can claim that unless Moussaoui was suffering from a mental illness, he wouldn't say the things he has said, like wanting to see a 9/11 "every day until we get you."
If that's the case, then there are millions who are mentally ill like Moussaoui. All of those people must carry the label of being a victim of a diseased mind.
Are the Palestinians who voted for Hamas mentally ill?
Is Osama bin Laden mentally ill?
What about Saddam Hussein, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
Are we prepared to diagnose all Muslim militants and their sympathizers as sick and in need of care?
Or, is it more appropriate to hold them responsible for the murder and the destruction that they gladly carry out?
I don't think we can maintain the resolve to fight the enemy and win the War on Terror if we can't even acknowledge that an enemy exists, an evil group that really does want to destroy us.
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