Obama Gets It Right: A NYC 9/11 Trial

I think it is absolutely right to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four alleged co-conspirators in NYC. That is what we did to the last terrorists who attempted to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993 -- among the most notable of them, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Yousef. Each were given all constitutional rights and found guilty. There were no attempts to bomb their trials or try to free them. And, frankly, if these bombers had succeeded in bringing down the towers, we would still have tried them in NYC. The success or failure of their attempt did not change the courtroom venue. The 9/11 terrorists should be tried as criminals, not as soldiers. They are not an army, they are a band of fanatics. In any case, the military tribunals were always considered highly flawed as the Supreme Court pointed out. A public trial in New York will forever put on an open record exactly how heinous these crimes were, much like the Nuremberg tribunals did. The Obama Administration has acted correctly and courageously.