Obama: Try the Murderers of 9/11 in Civilian Court in NY.

What a bloody joke.







Lieberman: Bringing terror suspects to U.S. for trial 'inconceivable'

By Michael O'Brien
11/13/09
The Hill

It is "inconceivable" why the U.S. would bring the alleged terrorist masterminds of the 9/11 attacks to New York for trial, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Friday.

Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said that the terror detainees including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed should be tried in military tribunals outside the U.S.

“The terrorists who planned, participated in, and aided the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks are war criminals, not common criminals," Lieberman said in a statement. "The individuals accused of committing these heinous, cowardly acts of intentionally targeting unsuspecting, defenseless civilians should therefore be tried by military commission rather than in civilian courts in the United States.”

Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Democrats but who maintains a hawkish streak on national security issues, said that the terrorist suspects are not entitled to the same rights as U.S. citizens in court.

"I share the views of more than 140 family members of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks who recently wrote to the Senate urging that the individuals charged with responsibility for those attacks should be tried by military commission rather than in civilian courts in the United States," Lieberman said. "It is inconceivable that we would bring these alleged terrorists back to New York for trial, to the scene of the carnage they created eight years ago, and give them a platform to mock the suffering of their victims and the victims’ families, and rally their followers to continue waging jihad against America.”

Lieberman voted with Republicans last week on a losing vote seeking to bar U.S. courts from trying terrorist detainees.




and yet ....





Obama decision to try 9/11 defendants already drawing fire



Nov 13, 2009
By Alex Brandon, AP
USA Today

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Even before Attorney General Eric Holder made it official, the Obama administration's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a New York City federal court drew fire from conservatives who question his willingness to wage war on terrorists.

Debra Burlingame, the sister of a pilot whose plane was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, said in a statement that "the trial will be a travesty." She supports military trials for Mohammed and four other defendants.

"In open court, it will be Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who will hold forth," she said, "mocking his victims, exulting in the suffering of their families, ridiculing the judge, his lawyers and the American justice system, and worst of all, rallying his jihad brothers to kill more Americans."

In his announcement, Holder said the Justice Department will seek the death penalty against Mohammed and the other defendants. He said five other defendants, including a suspect in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, will be tried before military commissions.

"For over 200 years our nation has relied upon a faithful adherence to the rule of law," Holder told reporters. "Once again, we will ask our legal system in two venues to answer that call."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, also a supporter of military trials, said the decision reflected a pre-9/11 mindset, treating the 9/11 attacks as a typical crime rather than an act of war. "These terrorists planned and executed the mass murder of thousands of innocent Americans," he said. "Treating them like common criminals is unconscionable."

Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, said the decision makes the city more of a target. Holder responded by citing New York City's experience in conducting previous terrorism trials, including the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.

Michael Anton, a national security aide for President George W. Bush, predicted that that Mohammed's lawyers "will work hard to ensure that his trial is all about what he 'endured' at the hands of the U.S. government, and not at all about what he inflicted on the American people. They will strive to put in the dock George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, George Tenet, John Yoo, the CIA, and the United States government and the American people."

The Anton and Burlingame statements are available on The Weekly Standard website.

Tom Andrews, director of a campaign to close the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, applauded the decision. He added, "as long as Guantanamo remains open, America's image abroad will continue to be one of torture and our ability to lead will be hampered."

Andrews assailed the "fear based attacks by right-wing critics of President Obama." He noted that 195 terrorists have been convicted in U.S. federal courts since 2001, and that those who attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 were tried and convicted in federal court.

"Those responsible for 9/11 are not warriors, they are criminals and mass murderers,' Andrews said. "Treating them as anything else plays into al Qaeda's hands and rewards them an elevated status that only stokes their desire for 'martyrdom.'"










 
 
 
 
 
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