Khalid Shiek Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, along with four other co-conspirators who have been accused of participating in the 9/11 attacks, will be relocated from their current detention in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, to Manhattan to stand trial.
Well, congratulations, President Obama. You’ve just succeeded in making New York City an even bigger target for terrorism than it already was. I always knew you’d accomplish something.
Never mind the fact that the terrorists, who have tried to destroy us, will enjoy the same rights and privileges for a trial as a U.S. citizen would under our Constitution, or even the possibility that the terrorists may even win their cases, due to the fact that they weren’t read their rights, were tortured, etc. Let’s talk about the security measures.
Has it occurred to Attorney-General Eric Holder, who I remind you, was responsible for the pardoning of 16 FALN terrorists back in 1999 (who didn’t even ask for a pardon) just where exactly are we going to hold these terrorists before and during the trail?
How are they going to handle the security at the courthouse itself, both to prevent a rescue attempt of Mohammed and company by their terrorist co-horts and to protect the crowds who will gather to watch the trial?
How are they going to handle the transportation from the holding facility to the courthouse? How much security will be needed to transport these goons? How secure will the routes be? How much are these trials and security measures going to cost us?
Most importantly, what will our security itself focus on; the safety of Americans from the terrorists… or the safety of the terrorists from the Americans?
None of this was really necessary. Wasn’t there a courthouse in Guantanamo Bay already? Wouldn’t the terrorists have been much less likely to escape from there than they can back in the States?
Sure, we’ve tried terrorists in NYC before, notably Omar Abdul-Rahman, aka, the “blind sheik”, who is best known for the first World Trade Center bombing back in 1993, but let’s face it, Khalid Shiek Mohammed has a much higher profile than Omar. Just because nothing happened last time, that’s no guarantee that nothing will happen this time. Terrorists are much more sophisticated now than they were back then.
It’s a shame that Obama decided to close the prison before he actually decided on what he was going to do with the prisoners. How can someone with as much leadership experience as him…
Oh, wait… right.
You want to complain that Guantanamo Bay was being used as a recruitment tool by the terrorists? Wait until the trials in Manhattan start.
Sources:
Accused 9/11 Mastermind to Face Civilian Trial in N.Y.: Charlie Savage, Washington Times, 11/13/09
US Lawmakers Consider Guantanamo to be Both Prison and Courthouse: Suzanne Presto, VOA News.com, 5/17/09
Eric Holder and the FALN: Curt Levy, Washington Times.com, 01/23/09
Challenges for 9/11 Trial in NYC: CNN video with Alberto Gonzales, 11/13/09