Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court, an Obama administration official said Friday.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce the decision later in the morning. The fate of Canadian Omar Khadr, the only westerner left in Guantanamo, may also figure in the announcement. Mr. Khadr currently faces trial by military tribunal. In a separate, Canadian case, to be argued today before the Supreme Court in Ottawa, the government is fighting a lower court ruling ordering it to try and repatriate Mr. Khadr.
Mr. Holder's decision is expected later this morning.
Without confirming details of the decision, President Barack Obama said it was a legal and national security matter. “I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subjected to the most exacting demands of justice,” Mr. Obama said at a joint news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Bringing such notorious suspects to U.S. soil to face trial is a key step in Mr. Obama's plan to close the terror suspect detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mr. Obama initially planned to close the detention centre by Jan. 22, but the administration is no longer expected to meet that deadline.
It is also a major legal and political test of Mr. Obama's overall approach to terrorism. If the case suffers legal setbacks, the administration will face second-guessing from those who never wanted it in a civilian courtroom. And if lawmakers get upset about notorious terrorists being brought to their home regions, they may fight back against other parts of Mr. Obama's agenda.
Let's all pray that justice is served.
Bad idea all around and a disgrace to America and Freedom loving people worldwide.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. They should be tried in military courts just like the law calls for. It makes me think that something funny is going on.
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