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KSM Trial Will Be a Perverse Farce

It will be like rereleasing ' 9/11—the Director's Cut '

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2009 5:13 AM CST
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(Newser) – Everybody knows that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is never going to walk free, and that makes the logic behind Eric Holder's decision to give him a civilian trial in New York all the more puzzling, writes Charles Krauthammer. With the 9/11 not just the most destructive terrorist attack, "but the most spectacular and telegenic," Holder is essentially giving it a second life. The upcoming "farcical show trial" will give KSM a huge propaganda platform and endanger the security of New Yorkers and all Americans, Krauthammer writes in the Washington Post.

It's not as if the attorney general is opposed to military tribunals on principle, writes Krauthammer. Holder, he notes, ordered the alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing be tried by a military tribunal the same day he made the KSM decision, and his explanation for the difference is "utterly incoherent." Holder has said this will be "the trial of the century," Krauthammer writes. "The last such was the trial of OJ Simpson"

This July 2009 photo downloaded from the Arabic language web site www.muslm.net shows a man identified by the site as Khalid Sheik Mohammed,
This July 2009 photo downloaded from the Arabic language web site www.muslm.net shows a man identified by the site as Khalid Sheik Mohammed,   (AP Photo/www.muslm.net)
In this March 1, 2003 file picture, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan.
In this March 1, 2003 file picture, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan.   (AP Photo/File)
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Whenever a jihadist volunteers for martyrdom, we should grant his wish. Instead, this one, the most murderous and unrepentant of all, gets to dance and declaim at the scene of his crime. - Charles Krauthammer

KSM has gratuitously been presented with the greatest propaganda platform imaginable—a civilian trial in the media capital of the world—from which to proclaim the glory of jihad and the criminality of infidel America. - Charles Krauthammer

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 12 comments
thezenhaitian
Nov 24, 2009 2:39 AM CST
Maybe this so-called show trial is supposed to put to rest the belief that a growing number of Americans have that 9/11 was an inside job. This is a miscalculation on the part of the Obama administration--people will see through this because these men have been held for years without due process and tortured numerous times until--who knows what they would not confess to now. Shows clearly that this government believes Americans are easily misled. Statements from Obama and Holder in the lead to this circus guarantee a pre-determined outcome and are calculated to prejudice public opinion and the jury pool (if it was even possible to get a "fair" trial in NY of all places): Obama: "I don't think it will be offensive at all when the death penalty is applied to him." Holder: "Failure is not an option. These are cases that have to be won. I don't expect that we will have a contrary result." SHOW TRIAL: A highly publicized trial which is often undertaken more as a public relations exercise than as an attempt at genuine justice.
godawgs
Nov 20, 2009 12:57 PM CST
It's not that people are scared of the courts system, but there really isn't anyway to get this guy a fair trial. do you think that the would honestly find an impartial jury anywhere in the US? Don't you think holding him for like 5 years before his trial violates the 6th amendment? I mean if he is going to be found guilty and given the death sentence then why hold the trail? j
fancygapva
Nov 20, 2009 12:23 PM CST
Krauthammer is soooooo predictable. This case needs some sunshine on it. Why should the US cower about trying a criminal? His testomony won't be admissable due to torture. Big mistake, but let's do this trial, expose the mistakes and be done with it.

 
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed • civilian law • Eric Holder • 9/11 attacks • Charles Krauthammer • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial

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