Despite his inability to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year as promised, President Barack Obama reached a major milestone when his administration announced plans to try key al-Qaeda operatives in both federal court and before a military commission.
We’ve long lamented Bush administration policies to hold terror suspects for years without charges. It is heartening to see the Obama administration finally taking concrete steps to try some of the detainees and repair our nation’s reputation for following the rule of law.
Attorney General Eric Holder says civilian prosecutors will try self-described 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused in the plot in federal court in New York City. He also said he would seek the death penalty if they’re convicted.
Additionally, Holder said that Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and four cohorts accused of planning the bombing of the USS Cole Navy destroyer in Yemen in 2000 will be tried by a military commission.
Even though Obama said during the presidential campaign that he would end the Bush-era military commissions, we’re glad he changed his mind and think they could be a useful tool, especially in such cases where the U.S. government doesn’t want to risk releasing information that could hamper national security.
However, the Obama administration needs to ensure that the military commissions are not dumping grounds for cases that aren’t strong enough for federal court.
The federal court cases, such as the one against Mohammed, could be difficult to prosecute given the questions that already have come up.
For example, we hope the Obama administration has an answer for the problem of Mohammed’s having been waterboarded 183 times.
Would a federal judge, for example, throw out key testimony extracted under what Holder himself defines as torture?
How could Mohammed receive a fair trial and be presumed innocent until proven guilty when so many books, articles and other media have cast him as the chief 9/11 plotter for the bulk of this decade?
“I’m absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice,” Obama said Friday. “The American people insist on it, and my administration insists on it.”
Meanwhile, Republican critics of the administration question whether trying terror suspects in civilian court, with its extensive discovery privileges and protections, risks endangering sensitive information that could lead to national security threats. Another nightmare scenario would be a hung jury or not-guilty verdict that would free top al-Qaeda suspects.
But those fears exhibit a mistrust of our justice system that we believe is unfounded.
It’s time for our nation to begin dealing with the al-Qaeda suspects housed at Guantanamo, which still holds more than 200 detainees.
A study released last week found that the White House made several missteps by promising to shutter Gitmo so soon. The mistakes were regrettable, but it’s time to begin transferring prisoners and shutting down Gitmo, while bringing terrorists to justice.
