NYC 9/11 trials roundup

This week's Obama administration "Friday news dump" was the announcement that five 9/11 plotters, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be tried in a civilian court in New York.

Americans will have plenty to talk about this weekend. And politicians of both parties are denouncing the move:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued this statement:

The White House's decision today to bring the 9/11 plotters within our borders and into our communities instead of trying them at the secure detention facility at Guantanamo is a step backwards for the security of our country and puts Americans unnecessarily at risk.

This misguided decision is based on the false belief that the terrorists who killed 3,000 Americans in one day on U.S. soil are common criminals—not war criminals. But there are needless risks from this decision: classified information can be inadvertently leaked, as it was in the first World Trade Center trial; our cities will face enormous security problems; and our communities will be potential targets for attack.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who caucuses with the Democrats, slammed the administration's decision:

It is inconceivable that we would bring these alleged terrorists back to New York for trial, to the scene of the carnage they created eight years ago, and give them a platform to mock the suffering of their victims and the victims’ families, and rally their followers to continue waging jihad against America.

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) had this to say:

It will be disruptive, costly, and potentially counterproductive to try them as criminals in our civilian courts.

Previous civilian jihadist trials allowed sensitive information to end up in the hands of terrorists, including Osama bin Laden.

Here's what President Obama said just eight months ago about terrorists being held in Guantanamo Bay:

Now, Do these folks deserve Miranda rights? Do they deserve to be treated like A shoplifter down the block? Of course not.

In May, the Senate voted 90-6 "To prohibit funding to transfer, release, or incarcerate detainees detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to or within the United States."

But last week 54 Senate Democrats essentially endorsed the new action by the administration by tabling the Lieberman-Graham amendment that sought to prevent the 9/11 conspirators from being brought to the U.S. for civilian trial.

Is it 2010 yet?

Andrew McCarthy, a former assistant US district attorney and the author of Willful Blindness: Memoir of the Jihad, has much more to say on this subject.

Technorati tags: current affairs KSM Khalid Sheikh Muhammed Obama politics Barack Obama Gitmo guantanamo War on Terror Congress McConnell Kentucky