Lawyer: 9/11 defendants want platform for views
Photo 
This July 2009 photo downloaded from the Arabic language web site www.muslm.net shows a man identified by the site as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, in detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The picture was allegedly taken by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and released only to the detainee's family. An Obama administration official said Friday Nov. 13, 2009 that accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court.
NEW YORK — The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.
Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it."
The U.S. Justice Department announced earlier this month that Ali and four other men accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. will face a civilian federal trial just blocks from the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.
Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi, is a nephew of professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Mohammed, Ali and the others will explain "their assessment of American foreign policy," Fenstermaker said.
"Their assessment is negative," he said.
Fenstermaker met with Ali last week at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He has not spoken with the others but said the men have discussed the trial among themselves.
Fenstermaker was first quoted in The New York Times in Sunday's editions.
Critics of Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try the men in a New York City civilian courthouse have warned that the trial would provide the defendants with a propaganda platform.
Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said Sunday that while the men may attempt to use the trial to express their views, "we have full confidence in the ability of the courts and in particular the federal judge who may preside over the trial to ensure that the proceeding is conducted appropriately and with minimal disruption, as federal courts have done in the past."
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Holder for hours about his decision to send the five 9/11 suspects to New York for trial.
Critics of Holder's decision — mostly Republicans — argued the trial will give Mohammed and his co-defendants a world stage to spout hateful rhetoric. Holder said such concerns are misplaced, and any pronouncements by the suspects would only make them look worse.
"I have every confidence that the nation and the world will see him for the coward that he is," Holder told the committee. "I'm not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial — and no one else needs to be, either."
The attorney general said he does not believe holding the trial in New York — at a federal courthouse that has seen a number of high-profile terrorism trials in recent decades — will increase the risk of terror attacks there.
Nov 24, 2009 at 8:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
"I'm not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial — and no one else needs to be, either." ---- Mr. Holder,of course your & your family are not scared -your not living the life of a
CIA operative about ready to be comprimised."
According to the Bush Administration, tiredofhearingit, its perfectly ok to reveal the identity of a CIA operative.
And that didn't even come out at a trial to convict a terrorist. From what I remember it had more to do with Rove or Cheney getting revenge against an Operatives family member. The person (scapegoat) that blew her cover was even given a pardon by the President himself. No harm, no foul.
Nov 23, 2009 at 7:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
"I'm not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial — and no one else needs to be, either." ---- Mr. Holder,of course your & your family are not scared -your not living the life of a
CIA operative about ready to be comprimised. I fear the 15 minutes of fame Holder is looking for is going to last ALOT longer than 15 minutes - so much so, it will be in history books for generations - and I'm not talking about what a great trial it was or how "humane" & fair the trial was either. Can you even imagine a dirty bomb at or near the trial - these wacko's can't wait for us to do something this stupid.
*****
Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it."
***
Really? and we get to spend what, $100 million to give them a platform for this, - we already have one & it won't cost taxpayers a dime or put lives at risk - its called write a book while your awaiting execution like others!!!! Here's even a title: Inside the mind of a ADMITTED TERRORIST. Then all proceeds can go to the victims families or to erect a memorial- in the tragic event that the author is killed of course, rather than cost us millions for what we already know - He's guilty!!
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
I, for one, am very curious as to know how these men view our foreign policy. I'm sure many Americans believe our foreign policy has been carried out in a manner that's respectful of the affected countries culture and populace. Unfortunately, that has rarely been the case over the years. The U.S. has a well deserved reputation for supporting ruthless leaders (ie: Shah of Iran), ignoring their human rights abuses, so long as it benefits whomever is in power in the U.S. As happened in Chile in the '70's, the U.S. govt. will eliminate (assassinate) those leaders who don't want to play along. That certainly does not justify flying a plane and killing thousands of innocent people but its not like our governments hands are spotless either. Sooner or later our governments shameful foreign policy abuses would be exposed. Whether or not these men will address our foreign policies abuses truthfully or exaggerate remains to be seen. Either way, they are terrorists and criminals and should be judged as such.
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
Give them a platform........one with a trap door and a rope around their necks.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.