Attorney General Eric Holder said in a press conference on Wednesday that he is nearing a decision on whether to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM) and other conspirators in civilian or military courts. The decision has been repeatedly kicked down the road after an onslaught of pressure and fear-mongering from the far right, who apparently find it to their political benefit to undermine the American justice system. Such patriots, Liz Cheney and her ilk.
Back in the real world, some of the 9/11 families have urged Holder to trust in the American system of justice and try these men in open court.
Yesterday, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group of families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks, wrote an open letter to Holder asking him not to back down from his commitment to trying KSM and other alleged co-conspirators in civilian courts in New York. Referencing an earlier meeting with him that took place more than a year ago, the group writes that he told them at the time of his “personal committment to bringing these trials to open, transparent courts.” They end their letter by asking Holder to “not back off from what you know to be right”:
Attorney General Holder:
We, family members of those who died in the attacks of 9/11, entreat you to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his Guantanamo cohorts in federal courts that rely on the U.S. Constitution and the tenets of America’s 200 year-old system of justice. The location is not of consequence, although New York, Virginia, or another venue in the East where most of the families reside, would be optimum. [...]
Many of us met with you face-to-face on June 16, 2009 and you told us at that time of your personal commitment to bringing these trials to open, transparent courts. Please do not back off from what you know to be right.
This is really a make or break moment for Holder and for those principles he staked out in the GQ article Marcy quotes from in the linked post.
“There is an important principle at stake here,” Holder told me. “You don’t shy away from using this great system for political reasons. It hampers our ability as we interact with our allies if we don’t stand for the rule of law when it comes to a case that is politically difficult to bring.”
The article also states that the call isn't Holder's but Obama's. If that's the case, the pressure of the midterms is over and the President should be giving some thought to what Holder states: "It hampers our ability as we interact with our allies if we don't stand for the rule of law." It might not be popular with the right, but as this election more than demonstrated, giving in to the right is a losing battle anyway. Showing that the American system of justice is up to the task of trying and convicting these men is critical here at home, and abroad, with friend and foe alike.