9/11, Barack Obama, detainees, Gitmo, Guantanamo, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Military Commissions, September 11

Press Release: Military Families United and 9/11 Families Respond To 9/11 Terrorists Confession

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Military Families United and 9/11 Families Respond To 9/11 Terrorists Confession

Washington, DC, March 10, 2009 – Today, Military Families United joined with 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America to release the following statement in response to the “9/11 Shura Council” letter announcing their responsibility and pride for their horrific actions on September 11, 2001. The document titled “The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations,” was authored by five current detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11th attacks.

“The brazenness of this letter exemplifies the current threat that the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay present to America and our allies,” said Brian Wise, Executive Director of Military Families United. “These five terrorists show no remorse or repentance for taking the lives of more than 3,000 innocent civilians and if the closure of GITMO is not handled properly by the Administration, these same terrorists will be returned to the battlefield where they will undoubtedly continue their campaigns against American soldiers and innocent civilians. The President has promised the terrorists at GITMO ‘swift and certain justice’ but his persistent failure to provide a viable solution to where these dangerous terrorists are going to held does not bode well for the future of our national security.”

“This isn’t just a policy decision or the fulfillment of a campaign promise for us,” said Tim Sumner, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America. “This is the reality we live with every day. We don’t have our loved ones with us because they were taken away by the brutal acts of these men. Twice now, these five terrorists have freely admitted to a Military Commission – duly enacted by Congress – to planning and executing mass murder; we should not further delay the imposition of the appropriate punishment for that crime. We have been denied ‘swift and certain justice’ and he has now begun releasing some of these dangerous terrorists. The families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks know first-hand the pain that these men have inflicted. We sit at the dinner table with the empty chair and deeply miss those that have been taken from us. All we ask is that the President put our country’s national security above political promises.”

We are the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and the families of our brave men and women in uniform who have relentlessly fought to capture terrorists who plot to harm our country and our way of life. Many of our family members have paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect this country and their sacrifice cannot be in vain by the Administration failing to act with our country’s national security as the first priority.

We know firsthand the cost of terrorism and know that whatever actions President Obama takes with the detainees at GITMO will have a drastic effect on our courageous military and their families.

Press contact: Meghan Tisinger, Director of Communications, Military Families United, W: (202) 429-5600, C: (202) 510-5304

About Military Families United:

Military Families United serves as the nation’s premier military family advocacy organization, representing Gold and Blue Star families throughout the country and their loved ones who wear, or have worn, our nation’s uniform. Military Families United was founded in the summer of 2008 as a not-for-profit, non-partisan 501c4 policy advocacy organization committed to supporting America’s troops and their families. We fight to ensure that the sacrifices of these families are not in vain by giving them a voice in Washington, D.C and state governments throughout the country. Military Families United engages Members of Congress, the Administration, and the general public in efforts to communicate the truth about our brave men and women in uniform and their mission to protect our freedom that cost many of them their lives.

About us:

9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America is a non-partisan affiliation of 9/11 family members who view national security as the country’s top priority. The group supports the U.S. military and endorses the doctrine of pre-emption, supported by the 9/11 Commission’s statement on terrorist threats: “Once the danger has fully materialized, evident to all, mobilizing action is easier–but it then may be too late.” The organization was formed to convey our support for the military and to provide a forum for news and commentary on matters of national security and of interest to 9/11 family members. Our email address is: admin@911familiesforamerica.org

9/11, al Qaeda, Barack Obama, detainees, Gitmo, Guantanamo, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Military Commissions, New York Times, September 11, World Trade Center

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed plus 4 al Qaeda killers at Gitmo admit they planned September 11

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Anyone remember 9/11?

Anyone remember the World Trade Center?

Anyone remember the Pentagon?

Anyone remember the innocent aboard those four planes?

Someone will have to explain to my family and me what President Barack Obama meant when he said those at Guantanamo will receive, “Swift and certain justice,” why five barbarians were not allowed to plead guilty last year, and why this latest admission of guilt is not reason enough to let them plead guilty immediately at a Military Commission.

The New York Times reports:

The five detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have filed a document with the military commission at the United States naval base there expressing pride at their accomplishment and accepting full responsibility for the killing of nearly 3,000 people.

The document, which may be released publicly on Tuesday, uses the Arabic term for a consultative assembly in describing the five men as the “9/11 Shura Council,” and it says their actions were an offering to God, according to excerpts of the document that were read to a reporter by a government official who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The document is titled “The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations,” the military judge at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp said in a separate filing, obtained by The New York Times, that describes the detainees’ document.

The document was filed on behalf of the five men, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who has described himself as the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

President Obama halted the military proceedings at Guantánamo in the first days after his inauguration, and the five men’s case is on hiatus until the government decides how it will proceed.

Several of the men have earlier said in military commission proceedings at Guantánamo that they planned the 2001 attacks and that they sought martyrdom. The strategic goal of the five men in making the new filing, which reached the military court on March 5, was not clear.

In their filing, the men describe the planning of the Sept. 11 attacks and the killing of Americans as a model of Islamic action, and say the American government’s accusations cause them no shame, according to the excerpts read by the government official.

“To us,” the official continued reading, “they are not accusations. To us they are a badge of honor, which we carry with honor.”

Remember the 2,975 that were killed and bring “swift and certain justice” now to their murderers.