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Heightened security for New York trial of 9-11 terrorists

by smkovalinsky | November 16, 2009 at 06:37 pm

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Five men accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks will stand trial in New York City. Heightened security will be an essential feature of the event.

Five men accused of plotting the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and detained at Guantánamo Bay will finally be brought to justice. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday that the men - including self-described mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - will be transported to New York City for trial in a federal court. That is an important affirmation, for all the world to see, of this nation's profound commitment to the fair and evenhanded pursuit of justice.
Bringing these accused terrorists to New York is risky politically and could once again make the city a terrorist target. But this is the scene of the crime, and New Yorkers have repeatedly shown impressive fortitude through devastating attacks and volatile prosecutions. The federal courts are clearly up to the security and legal challenges of terrorist trials. More than 100 terrorists, such as the "blind sheik" Omar Abdel Rahman and the "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, have been convicted in federal courts and are behind bars.

Five other detainees, including Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who's accused of planning the bombing of the USS Cole, will be tried by military commissions. That's appropriate, since the destroyer was a military target hit outside the United States.

The decision to put these 10 men on trial signals the important recognition that imprisoning them indefinitely, without that due process, is just not the American way.

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snuffysmith

at 19:19 on November 16th, 2009

The KSM Trial Will Be an Intelligence Bonanza for al Qaeda: The government will have to choose between vigorous prosecution and revealing classified sources and methods - John Yoo, Wall Street Journal: Even more harmful to our national security will be the effect a civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will have on the future conduct of intelligence officers and military personnel. Will they have to read al Qaeda terrorists their Miranda rights?

snuffysmith

at 19:20 on November 16th, 2009

New York's 9/11 trial justice: Putting the 9/11 suspects on trial in New York is the right move - but seeking the death penalty would be a strategic error - Ken Gude, guardian.co.uk: The Obama administration may unintentionally hand al-Qaida a propaganda tool should it – as Holder strongly suggested – seek the death penalty for these men. It is in the strategic interests of the US to deny these most heinous al-Qaida terrorists what they want most: martyrdom.

Hugh Askew

at 19:30 on November 16th, 2009

some New Yorkers probably wouldn't mind seeing an old fashion lynching for some of these gentlemen.

rng

at 19:36 on November 16th, 2009

John Yoo - are kidding me? Security will have to be tightened - a given

John Yoo and Dick Cheney are charter members of the Paranoids Inner Circle, Innermost Secret Circle. Yoo is an amoral hack, was in his justification for torture rulings since decried by most constitutional lawyers and is still on the same payroll

snuffysmith

at 07:19 on November 18th, 2009

Who Needs Trials? Kill Terror Suspects!

By Nat Hentoff

Is it possible that the CIA would actually commit alleged war crimes — and the U.S. government would not hold the CIA and itself accountable in any way? Is water wet? Continue

snuffysmith

at 12:23 on November 18th, 2009

Buchanan: Trying KSM in civilian court could cost Obama presidency...

I don't know if I would go this far, but I do know that the constitutional defense lawyers are going to have a field day.

snuffysmith

at 12:28 on November 18th, 2009

The role of military commissions in adjudicating the cases of suspected terrorist detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere was critically examined in two House Judiciary Subcommittee hearings last July, the records of which have just been published.

"My concern remains," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who chaired the hearings, "that we may be creating a system in which we try you in Federal court if we have strong evidence, we try you by military commission if we have weak evidence, and we detain you indefinitely if we have no evidence."

"That is not a justice system," Rep. Nadler said.

See "Legal Issues Surrounding the Military Commissions System," July 8, 2009; and "Proposals for Reform of the Military Commissions System," July 30, 2009.

snuffysmith

at 08:20 on November 20th, 2009

The Administration Guts Its Own Argument for 9/11 Trials by Glenn Greenwald

snuffysmith

at 16:43 on November 20th, 2009

Travesty in New York - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post:

For late-19th-century anarchists, terrorism was the "propaganda of the deed." And the most successful propaganda-by-deed in history was 9/11 -- not just the most destructive, but the most spectacular and telegenic. And now its self-proclaimed architect, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, has been given by the Obama administration a civilian trial in New York. Just as the memory fades, 9/11 has been granted a second life -- and KSM, a second act: "9/11, The Director's Cut," narration by KSM. Image from