The absurdity of trying 9/11 terrorists in New York City

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who blithely admits to planning the Sept. 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in downtown New York, deserves to be put to death. Less clear is Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement last week that New York City was the best venue to pursue the case against them.

This is plainly absurd. Holding the trial in New York puts a big bull’s-eye on the downtown area. It is common sense that holding the trial in the twice-attacked lower Manhattan community makes it more likely New York will be attacked again. Moreover, the cost of providing security for the trial could easily exceed $100 million for a city that is already embroiled in a fiscal crisis.

Notably, Mohammed previously asked to plead guilty before a military commission, and to be executed. Get it? There is no legal reason to hold the hearing in a civilian court as opposed to a military tribunal. A civilian hearing dramatically increases the chances that crucial evidence will be disallowed, that classified material will be disclosed or that Mohammed could get off on a technicality.

Holder had no problem trying other terrorist suspects in military tribunals. Should the 9/11 mastermind really receive the best chance of acquittal? Should the man who engineered the worst terror attack on American soil be given a national platform for his radical ideology? Should the residents of New York be forced to relive the tragedy for the sake of a legal farce?

You be the judge!


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