9/11 mastermind to remain in detention without trial: report

The Washington Post says Khalid Sheik Mohammed will likely remain in military detention for foreseeable future.


Afp November 13, 2010

WASHINGTON: The alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, will likely remain in military detention without trial for the foreseeable future, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Citing unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said the administration of President Barack Obama has concluded that it could not put Mohammed on trial in a federal court because of the opposition of lawmakers in Congress and in New York.

There is also little internal support for a military prosecution at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, because it would alienate Obama's liberal supporters, the report said.

The White House has made it clear that a federal prosecution of Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators has not been ruled out, the paper said.

But officials says a trial is unlikely to happen before the next presidential election and would require a different political environment, The Post noted.

COMMENTS (2)

Rizwan T Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Yup! This is the land of freedom, justice blaw blaw blaw...behind the curtain are the same rats.
Cautious | 13 years ago | Reply Another broken promise by Obama. These kind of articles tend to imply that Congress is the problem but in reality the President doesn't need permission from anyone to conduct a trial in any federal court - he just doesn't want to create another political storm. If he conducts a trial in NY he is going to make the extreme left happy (but those people would never vote for Republicans) on the other hand that trial would offend both the Independent and moderate Democrats who may very well swing there support to Republicans. Further - if the terrorist were to be found not guilty on some legal technicality Obama and most of the Democrats would kiss their political careers GOOD BYE forever - there would be protests/riots throughout the USA.
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