Sept. 11 Mastermind’s Trial Set for New York
Khalid Shiekh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, will be going to trial in New York. Virginia (home of the Pentagon) was competing with New York over who will decide the fate of this senior al Qaeda leader, but decided on a joint effort in a New York based courtroom. With President Obama’s decision to close down the Guantanamo Bay prison, all the terrorist suspects held at Guantanamo Bay prison will get criminal trials in state courts instead of military commissions.
Khalid Shiekh Mohammed’s formal charges will not be announced for a couple of weeks, but Mr. Mohammed did claim that he was the one responsible for the terrorist attacks and was the head of the operation. However, he also accused the the U.S. of torturing him for their use of admitted harsh tactics, including water boarding, a technique intended to simulate drowning. Will this affect Mohammed’s trial? We will see once formal charges are made against Mohammed.
(Via WSJ)
