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American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

November 16, 2009 By Fausta

Yoo & McCarthy on the suicidal decision to try KSM in Manhattan

The decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan is, so far (but give it time), the most suicidal of any American administration in history.

For instance, the hazard to American intelligence:

John Yoo:
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.

Trying KSM in civilian court will be an intelligence bonanza for al Qaeda and the hostile nations that will view the U.S. intelligence methods and sources that such a trial will reveal. The proceedings will tie up judges for years on issues best left to the president and Congress.

Whether a jury ultimately convicts KSM and his fellows, or sentences them to death, is beside the point. The treatment of the 9/11 attacks as a criminal matter rather than as an act of war will cripple American efforts to fight terrorism. It is in effect a declaration that this nation is no longer at war.

I believe that is exactly one of the reasons why the Obama administration is so hell-bent on this: to proclaim that the US is no longer at war with Islamist terrorists.

And more consequences:

Now, however, KSM and his co-defendants will enjoy the benefits and rights that the Constitution accords to citizens and resident aliens—including the right to demand that the government produce in open court all of the information that it has on them, and how it got it.
…
Even more harmful to our national security will be the effect a civilian trial of KSM will have on the future conduct of intelligence officers and military personnel.

Andy McCarthy explores another reason for the trial:

That is, Pres. Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, experienced litigators, fully realize that in civilian court, the Qaeda quintet can and will demand discovery of mountains of government intelligence. They will demand disclosures about investigative tactics; the methods and sources by which intelligence has been obtained; the witnesses from the intelligence community, the military, and law enforcement who interrogated witnesses, conducted searches, secretly intercepted enemy communications, and employed other investigative techniques. They will attempt to compel testimony from officials who formulated U.S. counterterrorism strategy, in addition to U.S. and foreign intelligence officers. As civilian “defendants,” these war criminals will put Bush-era counterterrorism tactics under the brightest public spotlight in American legal history.

This is exactly what President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder know will happen. And because it is unnecessary to have this civilian trial at all, one must conclude that this is exactly what Obama and Holder want to see happen.

The trial will last years, possibly a decade, which works to the terrorists’ advantage:

From indictment to trial, the civilian case against the 9/11 terrorists will be a years-long seminar, enabling al-Qaeda and its jihadist allies to learn much of what we know and, more important, the methods and sources by which we come to know it. But that is not the half of it. By moving the case to civilian court, the president and his attorney general have laid the groundwork for an unprecedented surrender of our national-defense secrets directly to our most committed enemies.

Jennifer Rubin speculates on the trial:

And will it really stay in Manhattan, in such close proximity to Ground Zero, or should I say, “the crime scene”? Certainly a change of venue motion will be forthcoming among the hundreds, if not thousands, of motions that will flow from the defendant — oh yes, that’s defendant KSM, now entitled to the presumption of innocence – and his stable of lawyers.

On a lighter note, I was talking to a friend the other day on the possible change of venue. He suggested KSM should file to move the trial to the Bronx – “they never convict anyone in the Brox.”

Manhattan, a terrorist target from the get-go. The governor of New York is certainly worried. Via Hot Air, Gov. Paterson,

“This is not a decision that I would have made,” the governor said when asked about the upcoming federal trial of KSM and his four underlings.

“Our country was attacked on its own soil on Sept. 11, 2001, and New York was very much the epicenter of that attack,” Paterson said after an appearance at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new CUNY campus in East Harlem.

“Over 2,700 lives were lost,” he went on. “It’s very painful; we’re still having trouble getting over it. We still haven’t been able to rebuild that site, and having those terrorists tried so close to the attack is going to be an encumbrance on all of New Yorkers.”

———————————

And the more powerful reason to have the trial in Manhattan:

Kevin McCullough, in Ed Morrissey’s podcast, just now, points out that once the case gets started in two and a half years from now, all anyone will discuss will be GW Bush’s policies, not Obama’s.

Perfect timing.

Of course, that assumes that we are not attacked by then.

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Filed Under: Fausta's blog Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Comments

  1. ryukyu says

    November 16, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    I think they are using it as a distraction and to give a shout-out to trial attorneys. What a self-serving lot they are. They know it will take years. In the meantime, the victims will get no justice. Not that they care.

  2. Shane from PV Radio says

    November 16, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    How come no one is talking about the jury selection? If this trial is supposed to show the world how awesome we are, how can we expect to get away with a jury of Christians convicting KSM? What exactly is a jury of his peers? How many Muslims would have to be on the jury to make the trial and conviction legitimate?

    Obama tells us that he was elected partly to repair America’s image. He may very well finish the job of destroying America’s reputation that was started by the left during Bush’s presidency. Back then, they sold their souls for political gain. Today, they’ll do it for free…

  3. expat says

    November 16, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    I’m no lawyer, but it was obvious to me when this issue arose that KSM and his like fall between the cracks of civil law and Geneva. Where were all those foreign governments back then? I don’t remember any efforts to come up with a multilateral consensus on handling terrorists. I don’t remember any governments bucking Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, nor do I remember any concrete suggestions for detention and trials. They were all in CYA mode with their eyes on the polls. It is absolutely disgusting that Obama is willing to endanger Americans to grovel before a bunch of multilateral wimps.
    And as for the ridiculous idea that we need to set a perfect example for the world, I say BS. The biggest critics of America are those countries that stone women, lock up churchgoers, and kill journalists. Our example may have inspired brave dissidents, but the sanctimonious rulers don’t care what we do. And our allies, though not so brutal, are just as hypocritical.

  4. Kathy says

    November 17, 2009 at 12:46 am

    The left is determined to destroy this country, clearly. There is no other possible explanation for the KSM trial decision, our current foreign policy, and a remarkable increase in government spending that the left had been complaining about under Bush for years. How did we come to elect these loonies? And they have the nerve to call conservatives “extremists”. They are a sick, demented bunch.

  5. J says

    November 17, 2009 at 9:23 am

    Boston, MA….there is a reason the murderers launched from Boston…..there is a reason the dem politicians from MA said we asked for it (9/11) and got what we deserved…..Boston, MA – KSM will surely have a jury of his peers.

  6. Lynn B says

    November 17, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    They’ve already plead guilty, why a trial? Once someone pleads guilty the whole thing goes to the sentencing and probationary phase. It’s the question which begs an answer that no one seems to be asking. This is a ridiculous show trial and unnecessary.

  7. Fausta says

    November 17, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    They’ve already plead guilty, why a trial?
    Why indeed!

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