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“The mastermind of the 9/11 attack will be tried just blocks from Ground Zero in New York. But should this trial even be happening? Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and four other accused September 11 plotters will be tried in New York. Will it be the trial of the century or a propaganda forum?” (CBS News)
The Obama administration plans to bring five terror suspects to the U.S. for federal trials.
The plan is part of the president’s promise to shut down Guantanamo Bay, but questions are swirling about the his judgment—and if public trials are a good idea.
For the most part, Democrats support the move, but Republicans don’t want detainees on American soil or in U.S. courts.
We’re taking a look at perspectives from CBS News, FOX News, MSNBC, CNN, and The New York Times.
First up—Rudy Guiliani went on FOX News to say Obama should be pushing for military tribunals, not civilian trials.
“What the heck is he doing bringing this guy to New York for when he doesn’t have to, other than to give this guy more benefits than he’s entitled to? This seems to be an over concern with the rights of terrorists and a lack of concern for the rights of the public.”
On MSNBC, terrorism analyst Steve Emerson says the trials could backfire, becoming a platform for extremist propaganda.
“I think that they’re going to definitely exploit this trial to either represent themselves and make it into a circus-like atmosphere like we saw with the Masawi trial. Or they’ll use their attorneys to rule out a lot of the evidence that will be introduced against them.”
On CNN’s State of the Union, one conservative panelist says the president is missing the point, while another says the real point is politics.
“He doesn’t know that we’re in a war against Islamic terror. He thinks this is a legal matter. This is a big mistake. This is also a commitment he made and if he weren’t doing this, we’d say he’s breaking his promises. This is a man who believes that this needs to be done and if he were to let Gitmo proceed with its own system of justice, there would be an exception carved out here, there would be a different set of rules, and he would be held accountable for that as well.”
On ABC’s This Week, liberal commentator David Corn argues the trials are not only a smart move politically—they’re a necessity.
“Bringing something to justice is something of an obligation and not always easy to do. And as Attorney General, Eric Holder, said the other day, he’s going to be asking for the death penalty for KSM. So if that’s the case, it seems to me we have a tremendous obligation just to show the rest of the world we will do this in an open, accountable way if we’re going to give the maximum penalty.”
The New York Times points out Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder aren’t done with the hard decisions yet. In fact, hundreds await them.
“About 215 detainees remain at Guantánamo, although about 90 have been cleared for release. The task force is continuing to evaluate their cases and Mr. Holder is expected to make more announcements are expected in coming weeks.”
So what do you think? Is President Obama giving terrorists too many rights? Or will the terror trials bring the justice Americans have been waiting for?
Writer: Chance Seales
Producer: Justin Wolfgang
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