Litigation

Obama to Punt on Prosecuting KSM?

By Peter Hardin

Will the Obama administration effectively punt on a decision about where to try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed?

It may be a serious possibility. Mohammed “will probably remain in military detention without trial for the foreseeable future, according to Obama administration officials,” according to a Washington Post article.

Fierce opposition to a trial in a civilian U.S. courtroom has arisen, and the Obama administration has little stomach to try him in federal court. If it turned to a military proceeding at Guantanamo Bay, that would upset and alienate a liberal bloc, the article suggested.

Unnamed senior officials said there is little likelihood of a trial before the 2012 presidential election. Several of them said the debate over trying Mohammed has come to be identified as a symbol of the administration’s national security policy.

In a Salon commentary, Glenn Greenwald is sharply critical of the scenario depicted by the Post article:

“[A]t some point, keeping Mohammed in a cage without a trial for a long enough time constitutes lawless, indefinite imprisonment whether the President formally announces it or not.”

In the Washington Examiner, Byron York writes a piece entitled, “Will Obama’s KSM policy destroy U.S. credibility and boost terrorist recruitment?”

You can read more about detainee issues from Gavel Grab or from the Justice at Stake issues page on Civil Liberties and National Security.

Full post as published by The Gavel on November 15, 2010 (boomark / email).