Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks
It won’t be long before the trial of the century begins. It will be more sensational than the Lindberg kidnapping trial, more explosive than Monica Lewinski’s little blue dress, filled with more passion than the Scopes Monkey trial and more political than the House Un-American Activities Hearings in Congress. KSM (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) is coming to New York because U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, decided that he should be tried in a U. S. criminal court for his role in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Canter and the Pentagon instead of a military tribunal.
The difficulty with trying KSM’s in a criminal court is that there is a possibility that he will be acquitted even before the trial begins. If I was his lawyer I’d move for immediate dismissal based on the fact that criminal courts are bound by the Constitution and the defendant must be afforded the same Constitutional rights of any American citizen. But KSM’s civil rights have been violated on many levels from the time of his capture and throughout the duration of his incarceration. That’s why KSM should be tried by a military tribunal.
The rules for military courts are very different from those of criminal courts in the United States legal system. Unlike American criminal courts, military courts are not required to address habeas corpus. KSM’s habeas corpus rights were violated when he was held in isolation without access to legal counsel for many long months.
Military courts permit coerced confessions to be admitted as evidence against the accused. Civil courts do not. When Barack Hussein Obama publicly identified water boarding as torture, he tied the hands of court regarding KSM’s confession. Since torture is coercion, the Federal judge will be asked to toss the confession out.
Military courts don’t have the same rules as criminal courts regarding Miranda rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Miranda makes the suspect aware that he or she has the right to remain silent at the time of his or her arrest. The suspect also has the right to have an attorney present at the time of police questioning. There are many cases where criminal court judges released defendants specifically because the defendant was not properly Mirandized. But enemy combatants are seldom Mirandized at the time of capture.
Military courts don’t make provisions for defendants to confront their accusers. Criminal courts not only allow for defendants to confront their accusers, they also have a right to full access to all the evidence against them. This could provide KSM with information that could compromise our national security. But if the government withholds any pertinent evidence the judge can also toss the case out of his court.
Criminal proceedings require that the defendant be judged by an impartial jury of his peers. Not so in military proceedings. We have all heard of juries making decisions to acquit defendants that the majority of Americans believed to be guilty. The O. J. Simpson trial comes to mind. Who could possibly believe that any jury selected for this case is inclined to be impartial, especially when the jury pool will consist of citizens from New York City.
Even with a change of venue, which KSMs lawyers will likely request, a different trial site won’t provide an impartial jury. That’s because the Harvard Law School professor, Barack Hussein Obama tainted the entire American jury pool by publicly announcing that the Justice Department was going to try KSM, convict him, and then execute him. This is a highly prejudicial statement and Obama should know better than to make such an utterance.
During a recent Senate hearing, Lindsey Graham (R-NC) asked Holder if there has ever been an instance when a foreign national captured on a battle field was tried in a United States criminal court. Holder didn’t know the answer, but Graham did. The answer is no. Those cases have always been left to a military tribunal.
Turning KSM over to the criminal justice system is the most idiotic and reckless decision that any administration has ever made with regard to enemy combatants. I wouldn’t be surprised to find KSM free a year from now and returning home to a heroes welcome like the Lockerbie bomber did last summer.
It makes one wonder -- why this guy? and -- why now? One reason may be that that Eric Holder’s previous law firm has been retained to defend Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. If you have another answer, let me know.
Comments
I think he wants a show trial, conviction, myrtyrdom, celestial virgins, and to inspire worldwide call for a new generation of terrorists to attack infidels. Also, the trial will divide the enemy, possibly even to the point of an assassination attempt on him or on the President. Hostages held for his release is another possibility. It's a mess. The point being made is one of division of power, that being only Congress can declare war and so there can't be prisonors of was absent that. It isn't worth it. to make that point.
When the November results came in and I knew that Obama had been elected, I just shook my head. How can a nation so advanced be so . . .
This is an obvious byproduct to which the American people cannot rightfully complain.
Frank makes a great point. Did Eric Holder wake up one morning and flip a coin that came up "prosecute"? Or was this part of a larger strategic plan? In the world of intelligence, many times you want your adversary to know something. If you just send them a memo revealing this info, they won't accept it. But if you let them find it out for themselves, they will consider it valid. If you try KSM and find that you have little admissable evidence, so he is released, do you really lose? How dangerous would a "free" KSM be? Would his value as a source of new intelligence outweigh his value as a prisoner? Could the verdict be used to gain prestige in world oppinon showing that the American judicial system works? Finally, if tried, found not guility and released on the streets of New York, what would KSWM's life expectancy be? Hours?; days? - certainly not years. So here's another conspiracy theory. Pure speculation. But I'm inclined to think that the FBI, CIA and many others were consulted.
Ron Jeremy has really let himself go...
It gets even better.... Why should KSM return home when he can easily turn and sue for wronful imprisonment etc. Think of the millions he could reap. Book deals? KSM the movie?
He's be wise to purchase the services of one, Woopi Goldberg
to inform us that 9/11 wasn't terrorism, terrorism.
Reasons not to prosecute in New York.
1. Trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammad before a Military Tribunal will do better than a "greater chance of a conviction" since he has already requested a guilty plea and the death penalty.
2. In a civilian trial, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad could be acquitted on a technicality. Then what?
3. Using civilian courts contradicts the principle that we are a nation grounded in the rule of law since military combatants, according to Congress, are supposed to be tried before a military tribunal.
4. Granting terrorists a trial in civilian court will give them what they want, which is using the media capital of the world as a platform to broadcast their Jihad ideology and anti-American hatred.
5. Granting a military tribunal will give Americans what they want, which is keeping our Classified Intelligence classified. This will be a problem because civilian defense lawyers have the right to full disclosure and the right to cross-examine their accuser
Cont.
6. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was not entitled protection from unreasonable search and seizure, which is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
7. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was never read his Miranda rights, which unfortunately is a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
8. President Obama expressed that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad would get the death penalty if tried in New York. Good job Mr. President, now Khalid Sheikh Mohammad can't get a fair trial, which violates the Sixth Amendment.
9. Providing Khalid Sheikh Mohammad the protections of due process tells terrorists that they are better off attacking us at home rather than on the battle field.
10. Conducting a 9-11 trial in New York will cost taxpayers millions of dollars in beefed up security and increased risk of being a perfect target for a terrorist attack.
11. If we grant military combatants Constitutional rights, then what will we do when we find Osama Bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan?
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