SU database tracks terrorism trends

As the Bush administration answers questions from the 9/11 Commission about how they handled the terrorist attacks, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department may soon have to answer questions about their post Sept. 11 attacks on terrorism.

The Justice Department has convicted 184 individuals in international terrorism cases within the two years following Sept. 11. But the average sentence in those convictions has been 14 days in prison with only three people sentenced to five years or more, according to a December study by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse - a research institute associated with Syracuse University that collects data of government law enforcement.

"Most of those arrested cop a plea," said William Banks, a professor of law at SU who teaches courses on domestic and international terrorism. "It's no different from those who get speeding tickets."

But unlike those stopped for speeding tickets, terrorism suspects face the prospect of expensive legal fees, long prison terms and a media frenzy surrounding a trial. The study also showed an increase of convictions in major terrorism cases, including domestic and financial, from 96 convictions in the two years prior to Sept. 11 to 341 in the two following it.

"The data indicates the government is casting a wider net than it has in the past," said David Burnham, co-director of TRAC and a former investigative reporter for The New York Times. "The question is, are they getting more sharks?"

While the government may be convicting more individuals, it conducted only two trials on international terrorism in the 30 months since Sept. 11. Three Middle Eastern men were convicted last June in Detroit on a number of terrorism and fraud charges after the FBI's investigation into Sept. 11.

"The Department of Justice will work diligently to detect, disrupt and dismantle the activities of terrorist cells in the United States and abroad," Ashcroft said in a statement released following the first and only U.S. jury conviction from the Sept. 11 investigation.

But the judge is now considering throwing out the convictions and ordering a new trial because of arguments of prosecutorial misconduct and withholding of evidence, according to the U.S. News and World Report.

In the "Virginia Jihad" case, three American Muslims were convicted in March of conspiring to support terrorism. Prosecutors said the men were training for holy war around the world by engaging in paintball battles in 2000 and 2001. The men waived their rights to a trail by jury, and they face up to life in prison when they are sentenced in June.

But other suspects aren't given the opportunity for a trial. The Bush administration opened up a prison camp following Sept. 11 at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to detain individuals suspected of aiding or being terrorists. Without a trial or access to legal representation, they are classified by President Bush as "enemy combatants" and sent to the camp indefinitely. More than 660 suspects have been detained, most of whom were arrested in Afghanistan.

Jose Padilla was the first American suspect to be deemed an "enemy combatant" when he was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport on May 8, 2002. The former gang member was accused of plotting an al-Qaeda dirty bomb attack. The Supreme Court will review his case this month and decide if he can be held indefinitely without access to a lawyer.

"From an enforcement policy, the question is whether this strategy is effective," Burnham said. "People are picked up and categorized as terrorists for spitting on the street. Is it lawful? Is it constitutional?"

Ambassador Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international relations and public administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, gives the Bush administration high marks on its war on terrorism.

"A lot of good work has been done," said Levitsky, who also teaches a course on terrorism. "(But) there will not be a quick victory."

Some believe that the results of the TRAC report will not change the focus of the Bush administration's war on terror.

"It doesn't affect the efforts of the Justice Department," Banks said. "It's just data."

Levitsky said he thinks it's wrong to measure success by how many convictions there have been since Sept. 11.

"It's not an accurate measure of how safe we are," Levitsky said. "There's hasn't been a major attack since Sept. 11 in America. Does that mean the terrorists don't exist anymore?"

"It's like an octopus with its head cut off," Levitsky added. "The tentacles are still there and they're dangerous."