Obama Waffles on Mohammed Trial

Obama Waffles on Mohammed Trial

If there is one issue that demonstrates an appalling lack of leadership on the part of President Barack Obama it is his administration's mishandling of the trial of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM).

First, Attorney General Eric Holder announced last November that Mohammed and four other terrorists with ties to 9/11 would be tried in a civilian court in New York — a horrible decision he reportedly made without consulting either New York City Mayor Bloomberg or the NYPD. (Bloomberg at first expressed approval for the plan, but then reversed course after sustaining heavy criticism from the citizens of New York.)

Then came the flip. According to the January 29 edition of the New York Daily News: "The White House has abandoned its plan to hold the 9/11 terror trial in lower Manhattan after a wave of protests from New York to Washington, it was reported last night... 'New York is out,' an administration official told The Washington Post... 'We're considering other options.'"

And now the flop. When asked about holding the trial in New York, Obama told CBS News' anchor Katie Couric in an interview that aired during the Super Bowl: "I have not ruled it out, but I think it's important for us to take into account the practical, logistical issues involved."

Now The Washington Post reports today that President Obama has frozen Eric Holder out of the process and will decide where the trial will take place. And it is looking more likely than ever that there will be military trials of KSM and other 9/11 conspirators.

Of course Mohammed shouldn't be anywhere near a U.S. civilian court. He should be tried in a military tribunal like all other war criminals. (As I've mentioned previously, Judicial Watch was invited to observe the military tribunal process for KSM at Guantanamo Bay and found it more than fair.) Obama should have overruled Holder from the start, just like he did for the release of the "prisoner abuse" photos. Instead he's allowed perhaps the most important trial in U.S. history to devolve into a circus. The citizens of New York want no part of this trial. And, as the President is finding out, no other city or state wants to give a man that murdered thousands of Americans his day in their courts. That's why Obama is back to square one.

In the absence of leadership in the White House, a bipartisan coalition in the U.S. Senate is now trying to make sure this trial doesn't happen in any U.S. city. A group of 18 Senators (including two Democrats) has proposed legislation that would strip the Obama administration of its funding for a civil trial.

"We run the risk of having very costly show trials that would benefit the international terrorist movement," said Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA.), explaining his support of the legislation.

That is exactly the point. And while the President doesn't see it, the American people do. According to a Quinnipiac poll released this week: "By a 59%-35% margin, voters prefer that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his cohorts be tried by military tribunals instead of in federal courts."

Obama's inexperienced and ideological approach to fighting terrorism makes our country look foolish and weak. Obama's coming reversal on these terrorism trials is welcome, and shows that the grassroots opposition of citizens and groups like Judicial Watch can have an effect.