KSM Trial Moving from NYC

When will the conspiracy theories start?

The Obama administration on Friday gave up on its plan to try the Sept. 11 plotters in Lower Manhattan, bowing to almost unanimous pressure from New York officials and business leaders to move the terrorism trial elsewhere.

One suggested locale: Guantanamo Bay.

The trial of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed won't be held in lower Manhattan and could take place in a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, sources said last night.

Administration officials said that no final decision had been made but that officials of the Department of Justice and the White House were working feverishly to find a venue that would be less expensive and less of a security risk than New York City.

Obama Suspends Gitmo Prosecutions

If he was going to break one campaign promise, I would prefer it was this one.

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Jan. 20 -- In one of its first actions, the Obama administration instructed military prosecutors late Tuesday to seek a 120-day suspension of legal proceedings involving detainees at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- a clear break with the approach of the outgoing Bush administration.

The instruction came in a motion filed with a military court in the case of five defendants accused of organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The motion called for "a continuance of the proceedings" until May 20 so that "the newly inaugurated president and his administration [can] review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases currently pending before military commissions, specifically."

My concern is what they do with figures like KSM and the 20th hijacker, Mohamed al-Qhatani. The article notes:

The legal maneuver appears designed to provide the Obama administration time to refashion the prosecution system and potentially treat detainees as criminal defendants in federal court or have them face war-crimes charges in military courts-martial. It is also possible that the administration could re-form and relocate the military commissions before resuming trials.

You put KSM and al-Qhatani in the federal court system and the possibility exists that a judge will set them free. Indeed, the fruitcakes at the ACLU are essentially asking for that:

"This is a good step in the right direction, although we still think that the unconditional withdrawal of all charges and shutting down this tainted system is warranted," said Jamil Dakwar, director of the human rights program at the American Civil Liberties Union. "The president's order leaves open the option of this discredited system remaining in existence."

Some 9-11 family members are outraged:

"We demand that this camp stay open and that the process continue," said Joe Holland, whose son was among those killed during the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon in Washington.

"Right here, right now, this is a good process, they are getting a fair trial," Mr. Holland told reporters at the U.S. facility in Cuba, referring to the military commissions established by the Bush administration to try "war on terror" detainees held at the facility.

Let me make this clear. I don't care about the process, as long as the outcome is satisfactory. If KSM or al-Qhatani end up walking, then I am going to be quite outraged.

Reaction Among The Blogs Regarding KSM Confession

Our buddy Allahpundit noticed an additional item in the confession:

He offered a chilling confession to “managing and following up on the Cell for the Production of Biological Weapons, such as anthrax and others, and following up on Dirty Bomb Operations on American soil.”…

Anthrax, you say? In fairness, he does not say he orchestrated the anthrax attacks.

Power Line notes that KSM was treated rather deferentially by the tribunal:

Beyond that, what is most striking about the hearing is the elaborate courtesy and respect with which Khalid is treated by the presiding officer. It is somewhat galling to see this sadistic mass murderer chatting amiably with the President of the tribunal, complaining that his name is misspelled in one of the pleadings, and comparing himself to George Washington. I can only wonder what those who howl endlessly about America's allegedly barbaric treatment of terrorist detainees would make of it. Khalid obviously saw no reason to fear for his own well-being.

The liberal blogs are focused like a laser on the torture issue. Democrat Tayler Marsh:

Not to worry, either. Because after living through waterboarding... elcectro shock...some more waterboarding... being hung by his thumbs and other delicate ahem extremities, there's no way he could be lying. Right? He wouldn't just be telling us what we want to hear, right?

The Mahablog:

Given the nature of the, um, inducements to the confessions, we have no way to know how much is true and how much is I’ll tell you anything you want to hear. All we know for certain is that the Bush Administration is, once again, waving the bloody shirt of 9/11 to distract us from its political problems.