Tag Archive for Gitmo

9/11, Barack Obama, Congress, Debra Burlingame, Gitmo, Guantanamo, Keep America Safe, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Military Commission

KSM trial non-decision angers 9/11 family members; Obama ‘changes’ stance on Gitmo tribunals

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I participated in yesterday’s White House conference call briefing to 9/11 family members; they provided us nothing new as to when or where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his lieutenant co-conspirators would be tried.

The Washington Times reported this morning:

Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America and a board member of Keep America Safe, said she was upset at the White House after participating in a conference call with families of the victims of 9/11. “What we heard today is that despite the fact that Congress has closed every loophole for trying Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators in Article III courts, the White House is persistent in defying the will of the American people and plans to do it anyway,” she said.

The briefers stated to us, “President Obama remains committed to using Article III courts for terrorists,” and added, “The President will work with Congress to lift the restrictions imposed in December 2010.” Last month, the House passed legislation that would extend the bar to all federal agencies imposed against using DOD funding for transferring Gitmo detainees to the U.S.

All of the questions during the call came from 9/11 family members.

The White House could not say how the Justice Department would overcome objections by officials in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to 9/11 civilian trials in those states and reconcile such a decision with 6th Amendment requirements. They could not provide information as to when the decision would be made. They dodged questions about why Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his cohorts were not being tried by Military Commission, at Guantanamo, and not being placed at that “top of the list.” They disputed one family member’s assertion that the 9/11 plotters were not being given top priority but provided no evidence to support their counter-argument. One 9/11 family member tersely told White House briefers, “This call is a waste of time.”

Many aging parents of the 2,976 slaughtered on 9/11 will not live to see justice done for the war crimes committed against their loved ones. But President Obama is “taking the issue off the table” for the 2012 election campaign; it will be “all Congress’s fault” if they do not let him bring foreign enemies onto U.S. soil and bestow them with Constitutional rights.

9/11, Barack Obama, Debra Burlingame, Eric Holder, Gitmo, Guantanamo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, KSM, September 11, World Trade Center

WSJ: ‘officials’ say military commission at Gitmo for KSM

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Yesterday, the Wall Street Street Journal reported:

Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday a decision is near on where to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other confessed plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. A key New York lawmaker flatly ruled out Mr. Holder’s earlier choice of federal court in New York City as a venue, and officials say the most likely outcome is a military commission trial at Guantanamo Bay, where the accused men are now held.

That may explain why Human Rights Watch has launched a taxicab video campaign:

The “man-on-the-street” style video, filmed around parts of Lower Manhattan, features more than a dozen anonymous city residents, from formally dressed bankers to street vendors, who speak directly to the camera, declaring, “I’m a New Yorker.” The speakers proclaim their support for the trials to be held in the city: “Here, here, because the crime was committed here,” one says. The advertisement ends by urging viewers to “stand up for 9/11 trials in New York” and suggesting a visit to the group’s Facebook page.

Gridlock, high security, and enemy propaganda would happen here, in lower Manhattan, at the same time the National September 11 Memorial and Museum was opening, if Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is brought to trial six blocks from the World Trade Center, as Debra Burlingame explained on Fox News with Megyn Kelly:

Obviously, Human Rights Watch has no regard for the safety, livelihoods, and opinions of New York City residents and Americans in general.

We will soon learn whether President Barack Obama shares their indifference.