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On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee met to question Attorney General Eric Holder about his decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others in criminal courts rather than military tribunals. As the father of Todd Beamer, who died on United Airlines Flight 93, I was able to attend that hearing. What transpired caused me great concern and shook my confidence in our current administration....How can we be assured that these enemies will be found guilty? Given that criminal courts are now the presumed venue for those captured on the battlefield, will soldiers need to read them their rights at...

One more KSM post before we move on to other business. A riveting exchange here, not because it’s contentious but because it isn’t: Our heroine very politely stresses that she doesn’t want her son’s murderers given a soapbox to rant and rave, and Holder very politely tells her to trust in the justice system and the secret evidence that’s going to bury KSM. Which, again, is super, but doesn’t solve the problem of setting legal precedents that’ll be used by lesser terrorists against whom no super-secret evidence exists. Beyond that, I want you to watch this clip because the meme...

This morning on Fox & Friends, three 9/11 family members debated President Barack Obama's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other top attack conspirators in a federal court just six blocks away from the World Trade Center. The three were Debra Burlingame, James Riches Sr., and Charles Wolf. (See the video after the jump.)

The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks will be tried in a civilian court blocks from where Al-Qaeda hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center, the US government announced. Attorney General Eric Holder said prosecutors would seek the death penalty against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four suspected co-plotters, who are held at Guantanamo Bay but will be moved to a New York prison ahead of their trial. "After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September 11 will finally face justice," Holder said, without giving a date. "They will be brought to New York...

Family members of some of the victims of the 9/11 attacks are voicing outrage over the decision to take the self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks to New York and try him in a federal civilian court. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be tried in a courthouse just blocks from where the World Trade Center stood. The widow of a pilot of the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon, Debra Burlingame, says, "We have a president who doesn't know we're at war."

A bright blue sky could not hide the gray shadows of pain that marked the eyes of the families of the victims of the "9/11" terrorist attack that found themselves in Arazim Park in Jerusalem on Thursday. They had gathered together with international dignitaries and Israeli leaders to dedicate a new monument to the their loved ones, who lost their lives in the senseless 2001 attack on America by the Al Qaeda terrorist organization...

Eight year ago today, on November 13, 2001, my family laid to rest a 9/11 hero on what would have been his 46th birthday. Outside the church, along with hundreds of friends and neighbors and 1,200 firefighters tearfully saluting their fallen brother, we felt our nation standing as one. Today, we ask that you stand once more, for your families and with ours, to support our troops, and in the common defense. We have appealed directly to the President. Below is that letter. If you wish to add your name to it, PLEASE CLICK HERE. (Note: 911FamiliesForAmerica.org is partners with...

KENT, Conn. — Peter Gadiel wants everyone to remember his son, James, who was killed during the September 11 terrorist attacks. And he also wants people to remember how he died: "Murdered by Muslim terrorists." For Gadiel, any tribute to his son would be woefully incomplete without those words. "I think it's important, because I think there's a nationwide effort to suppress the identity of the people who were involved in the attacks," Gadiel told Fox News. Eight years ago, 23-year-old James Gadiel worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center. He died when a...

NYC CAN Breaking News Bulletin - FORWARD WIDELY September 10, 2009 New York – In a last minute decision, lawyers for the City of New York have conceded that the New York City Coalition for Accountability Now (NYC CAN), a group comprising 9/11 family members, first responders and survivors, indeed did submit over 30,000 valid signatures to put the referendum for a new 9/11 investigation before the voters of New York City this November. In an earlier letter from the City Clerk dated July 24, 2009, the City had claimed only 26,003 signatures were valid, 3,997 short of the requisite...

Though Ad Was Never Authorized, It Somehow Ended Up On The Internet, Causing Furor From Victims' Families NEW YORK (CBS) ― The World Wildlife Fund has condemned an unauthorized ad that is circulating on the Internet. It tastelessly refers to 9/11 and was rejected by an ad agency. The ad shows dozens of planes all headed for lower Manhattan, with the World Wildlife Fund logo and the caption: "The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11." The response from WWF came quickly. "It's just insulting and appalling and we would never have ever considered using such images or such...

For some service members, serving at Joint Task Force Guantanamo is one more chapter in the book they call life. For others, the significance of the mission holds a deeper meaning -- more personal -- especially for service members who have lost friends, loved ones or know someone affected by the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. For the Soldiers of the 189th Military Police Co., the mission became more personal when family members of September 11 attack victims, visiting Guantanamo during the recent military commissions proceedings, made a special effort to say “thank you,” and convey gratitude, face to face,...

... Why had Attorney General Eric Holder decided not to renew his security measures, kept in place since 2002? ... Reid claimed that SAMs violated his First Amendment right of free speech and free exercise of religion. In a hand-written complaint, he asserted that he was being illegally prevented from performing daily “group prayers in a manner prescribed by my religion.” Yet the list of Reid’s potential fellow congregants at ADX Florence reads like a Who’s Who of al Qaeda’s most dangerous members: Ramzi Yousef and his three co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui;...

Today, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed entitled 'Revenge of the ‘Shoe Bomber’: The terrorist sues to resume his jihad from prison. The Obama administration caves in,' Debra Burlingame writes: On June 17, at the Administrative Maximum (ADX) penitentiary in Florence, Colo., one of those albatrosses, inmate number 24079-038, began his day with a whole new range of possibilities. Eight days earlier [June 9, 2007 pdf file at link], the U.S. Attorney’s office in Denver filed notice in federal court that the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) which applied to that prisoner -- Richard C. Reid, a.k.a. the “Shoe Bomber” --...

Over the course of his tenure, President Obama has not only shown a disdain for the War Against Islamic Terrorists (also known as the War Against People Who Create Man-Made Disasters), but Obama has shown a total disregard for those who lost family members to acts of terror. Back in February, Obama upset the families of the USS Cole victims when he stopped the military commissions that were going to try the terrorists: ..The Cole's commanding officer when it was bombed in Yemen in 2000 - was among a dozen people who met with Obama and have been angered by...

Family members of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks say they have been blindsided by the Obama administration's opposition to their lawsuit seeking damages from top members of the Saudi Arabian government over suspected financial links to the 9/11 attackers.,P. A series of closed-door meetings between the relatives' groups and Justice Department officials, arranged as an update on Mr. Obama's plan to close the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, turned instead into a sharp clash over the Saudi legal action... "Physically, President Obama has done what previous presidents have done for a long time,...

NEW YORK (AP) — Relatives of Sept. 11 victims say they're angry that the Justice Department is supporting the Saudi royal family's bid to be removed from a 9/11 lawsuit. The families of some victims have accused the royal family of financially backing terrorist groups that carried out the 2001 attacks.

Victims' Relatives Say Justice Dept. Bid To Shield Royal Family From Lawsuit Undermines Fight Against Terror. Relatives of Sept. 11 victims say they're angry that the Justice Department is supporting the Saudi royal family's bid to be removed from a 9/11 lawsuit. The families of some victims have accused the royal family of financially backing terror groups that carried out the 2001 attack. Their complaint alleges that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi High Commission for Relief to Bosnia and Herzegovina (SHC), and four Saudi Princes (acting in both official and personal capacities) made donations to charitable organizations with...

News reports described the meeting as a touching and powerful coming together of the president and these long-suffering families. Mr. Obama had won over even those who opposed his decision to close Gitmo by assuaging their fears that the review of some 245 current detainees would result in dangerous jihadists being set free. “I did not vote for the man, but the way he talks to you, you can’t help but believe in him,” said John Clodfelter to the New York Times. His son, Kenneth, was killed in the Cole bombing. “[Mr. Obama] left me with a very positive feeling...

Military Families United and 9/11 Families Respond To 9/11 Terrorists ConfessionWashington, DC, March 10, 2009 – Today, Military Families United joined with 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America to release the following statement in response to the “9/11 Shura Council” letter announcing their responsibility and pride for their horrific actions on September 11, 2001. The document titled “The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations,” was authored by five current detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11th attacks. “The brazenness of this letter exemplifies the current threat that the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay present to...

Two weeks ago, I was among a small group of USS Cole and 9/11 victims’ families who met with President Obama at the White House. Despite President Obama’s assurances that the safety and security of the American people is his number one priority, I left the meeting with little confidence that the President appreciates the grave consequences of shutting down Guantanamo or the complex problems associated with adjudicating detainee cases in the federal court system. Indeed, he told us that he is “not at all concerned” about the security issues of bringing the detainees to the U.S. His rationale for...

A Sept. 11 widow who lost her husband in the World Trade Center was among those who perished aboard a commuter flight that crashed into a house in Buffalo, N.Y. Beverly Eckert of Stamford, Conn., whose husband Sean Rooney died in the 2001 attacks, was one of the 50 victims of the Continental Flight 3407 accident. Her sister Sue Bourque was at the Buffalo airport awaiting official confirmation that Eckert had been on board. Officials investigating the crash have not yet confirmed Eckert was among the 44 passengers killed Thursday night. "We know she was on that plane," Bourque told...

So So sad - May you rest in peace A woman who lost her husband in the September 11 terror attacks was among the 50 people who died in a plane crash last night. Beverly Eckert was apparently on her way to celebrate what would have been her husband Sean Rooney's 58th birthday. 'We know she was on the plane and now she's with him,' her sister Sue Bourque said.

In this Friday, May 24, 2002 file photo, Beverly Eckert, 50, of Stamford, Conn., holds a picture of her late husband Sean Rooney, 50, in Stamford, Ct. Eckert, one of the victims of Continental Flight 3407, was a Sept. 11 widow who lost her her husband Sean Rooney, her high school sweetheart, in the World Trade Center

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Posted By:Catherine MoyPermalink9/11 Victims Families: Obama Must Visit Gitmo and Reverse Dangerous Order Debra Burlingame’s brother, Charles “Chick” Burlingame, died as he piloted the plane that was hijacked by terrorists on 9/11. She opposes the closure of Gitmo. Families of those killed on 9/11, a Gold Star mother, and Sen. James Inhofe, sent a strong message today at Move America Forward’s press conference at the National Press conference in Washington DC: Keep Gitmo open for the sake of Americans who will be endangered by President Obama’s order to close the facility for terrorists. MAF has the...

President Obama assured relatives and victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole that he is keeping an open mind about how to handle the approximately 245 detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to participants in an hour-long meeting yesterday at the White House. The president met with about 40 family members and victims, who hold different views on his decision to close the prison in Cuba within a year. The exchange, which was sometimes passionate but never acrimonious, left some who were deeply skeptical of the administration's decision...

WASHINGTON — After an emotional, private meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama, survivors and victims' relatives of two al Qaida attacks said Friday that the president quelled some of their fears about closing the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention center, promised them an "open-door" policy and a hand in shaping anti-terror policies, and said he is considering a modified military commission system to try detainees. In a question-and-answer period with Obama that lasted about 35 minutes, some of the roughly 40 attendees affected by the USS Cole and Sept. 11, 2001, attacks emphasized concerns that a year might...

WASHINGTON - President Obama met with the relatives of 9/11 victims and the 17 sailors killed in the bombing of the USS Cole this afternoon - promising them he "would get quick justice" despite plans to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. "[Obama] said he wanted to close Guantanamo because it has become a bad symbol to the world," said Valerie Lucznikowska, a member of the Sept. 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.

President Obama will gather tomorrow with victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and U.S.S. Cole bombing for a face-to-face meeting as his administration struggles to decide how to handle detainees at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, several of those invited said. The previously undisclosed meeting at the White House tomorrow afternoon will give the new president a chance to explain his decision to close the controversial prison facility where the U.S. has placed many suspected terrorists since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Obama has been assailed by conservative critics who say the decision to close the facility within a year...

My brother was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11. I have been waiting for justice ever since. Last month, I went to Guantanamo Bay to try to find it. What I witnessed was shocking. I saw a place where prisoners toy with the authorities, read the newspaper and get one hour breaks for prayer. I saw a place where detainees are treated far better than many ordinary American criminal defendants - and, as far as I'm concerned, far better than they deserve. I looked straight into the eyes of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the man who masterminded the attacks...

The first problem at Guantanamo is not the food or the cages or the interrogations or any extrajudicial powers allegedly claimed by the Bush White House. The first problem at Guantanamo is that justice has been so long delayed. Had trials been held, verdicts handed down, cases closed, and punishment meted, we wouldn't need a debate over torture vs. "enhanced interrogation techniques." We wouldn't have a political feud unfolding from South Carolina to Fort Leavenworth to Washington to Brussels over where to imprison 60-80 of 245 remaining Gitmo inmates who according to the Pentagon should stand trial. We wouldn't have...

Three times during his tenure as Deputy Attorney General, Eric Holder was made fully aware that intelligence sharing with the Criminal Division was not taking place. As the officer in charge of day-to-day operations at the Department of Justice, his lack of due diligence ensured that the 'Wall' between the intelligence and criminal divisions of the FBI that Jamie Gorelick had built would remain in place for the foreseeable future. The 'Wall' stood as the Clinton administration and intelligence community saw the rising threat of al Qaeda, Ramzi Yousef was prosecuted for making the bomb used in the 1993 attack...

Three families of firefighters killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 want to meet with President Barack Obama to urge him to reverse his decision to suspend the trial of five detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who admit roles in the terror attacks. In a meeting with reporters at their attorney's office on Sunday, the families deplored what they called "delays and confusion" in the former Bush administration's effort to prosecute suspects in the 2001 attacks, which killed about 3,000 people, saying they want "a firm commitment" that the same process won't continue under Obama. "Seven and a...

This morning, the New York Daily News published my op-ed on President Barack Obama's decision to close Guantanamo and suspend the Military Commissions: With his shameful order to close Guantanamo Bay, President Obama has perfectly filled the stereotype of the classic clueless ultra-Liberal -- the one who can generate great passion for the rights of the guilty defendant and none for the innocent victim. With a single stroke of the pen, Obama has delayed justice for the victims of 9/11, and in essence granted a reprieve for Al Qaeda mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the architect of 9/11. America does not...

Over the objections of a large majority of 9/11 family members, President Barack Obama is expected to sign an Executive Order today directing that the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base be closed: Relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks, who were at the base this week to observe pretrial hearings, told reporters they oppose any halt to the trials. "The safest place to have these trials is Guantanamo Bay. If they were to move to the homeland it would endanger all of us," said Lorraine Arias Believeau of Barnegat, New Jersey, whose brother, Adam, was killed in...

By MICHELE McPHEE and RICHARD WEIR Daily News Staff Writers fter losing her husband in the World Trade Center and nearly losing her home when Flight 587 crashed in the Rockaways, Kimberly Moran was headed for a Christmas vacation yesterday when tragedy almost struck again. Four-year-old Dylan Moran with the three firemen who saved his life Her 4-year-old son Dylan began choking on jawbreaker candy and quickly turned blue. But two fast-acting cops and a passing volunteer firefighter saved the boy — sparing the Moran family more heartbreak. "They just seemed like they were there all of a sudden," the ...

Family members of people killed on September 11, 2001, and in other terror attacks say they are outraged by President Obama's draft order calling for the suspension of war crimes trials of prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. "To me it's beyond comprehension that they would take the side of the terrorists," said Peter Gadiel, whose son, James, was killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11. "Many of these people have been released and been right back killing, right back at their terrorist work again." Obama's request on the first full day of his presidency came as a draft...

Family members of people killed on September 11 and in other terror attacks say they are outraged by President Obama's draft order calling for the suspension of war crimes trials of prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay.

WTC victims' families are getting some serious coin, in addition to all the charitable giving that people gave, even though most of it hasn't made it to the families, apparently.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Plans to close Guantanamo are not sitting well with the Sept. 11 victims' relatives who sat stunned while two alleged terrorists declared they were proud of their role in the plot.

GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE, Cuba, (AFP) – Parents of five 9/11 victims called for the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay to remain open and for the military commissions to try the five men accused of perpetrating the attacks. "We demand that this camp stay open and that the process continue," said Joe Holland, whose son was killed during the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington. "Right here, right now, this is a good process, they are getting a fair trial," Holland told reporters, referring to the military...

There appears to be no question that Defendant Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was a U.S. citizen. It is also undisputed, however, that his father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a citizen of Kenya. Obama’s parents, according to divorce records, were married on or about February 2, 1961. Defendant Obama claims he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961 and it is uncertain in which hospital he claims to have been born. Obama’s grandmother on his father’s side, his half-brother and half-sister all claim Obama was born not in Hawaii but in Kenya. Reports reflect that Obama’s mother traveled...

The son of a 9/11 victim has sent a scathing letter to Bill Clinton, blasting the former president for failing to help him and other 9/11 kids get college aid from a charity that raised money in his name. "It's not about me, it's not about you, it's about the hundreds of kids who lost a Mom or Dad on 9/11 and giving them a chance," wrote Thomas Heidenberger, 21, in an angry letter shared with The Post. Heidenberger - who was 14 when his flight-attendant mother, Michele, died on the jet terrorists crashed into the Pentagon - blasted Clinton...

'INSPIRING' VISIT & MEET WITH BRAVEST Sarah Palin yesterday made an unscheduled tour of a visitors center at Ground Zero dedicated to those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terror attacks. The Republican vice-presidential nominee nodded her head several times and said, "Oh, my goodness," while a retired firefighter showed her pictures of the burning World Trade Center and exhibits that highlighted the moments the hijacked planes struck each tower. PHOTOS: Palin In NYC - Day 3 Her tour guide was Lee Ielpi, whose son Jonathan, a firefighter, died at the World Trade Center. Palin told Ielpi, "My parents...

Sibling saddened to think of family milestones his brother has missed. Cathy Faughnan-Green misses her husband, Christopher, but still counts herself lucky. Christopher Faughnan died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Last month, Cathy was remarried to a "great guy." The Faughnan family agrees. "I guess I miss everything," Cathy said of Christopher. "Him being a dad to my kids." When it became public that CU ethnic studies Professor Ward Churchill had called the 9/11 victims "Little Eichmanns," Michael wrote an open letter to the professor. In it he said Christopher was "a compassionate, respectful and generous man." "Mr....

I know you are all busy, but you need to meet this guy. He is on his way today to NYC to speak to Marines and families tomorrow, on 9-11. He, too, has given a lot. I know a lot of you are strong supporters of our military and men and women who serve our country. Below is a link to a Hollywood-style book trailer on youtube.com we prepared for "Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery," by Nick Popaditch with Mike Steere (Savas Beatie, October 1, 2008). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDpg7FC0sI YES, THAT IS...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2008 – Fifteen minutes before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack at the Pentagon, two sisters, both Defense Department employees, sat in the building’s five-sided center courtyard to talk about their family’s newest development. “We discussed her daughter’s first day in kindergarten,” said Kathy Dillaber, recalling the conversation with her “baby sister,” 41-year-old Patricia Mickley. As they spoke, the sisters watched an airplane streak above the open-air courtyard, and their discussion shifted to early reports that morning about a pair of planes crashing in New York City. About 10 minutes later they walked together toward their...

WJACTV Johnstown (PA) reports: Shanksville, PA -- Firefighters said it was one of the largest fire companies in the country meeting one of the smallest Saturday night, when 1,000 motorcycles from New York City rolled into the Alleghenies with a steel beam from the World Trade Center in tow. New York firefighters made the 311-mile trek to Shanksville by bike to give the 2-ton 14-foot long beam to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company... Read the rest or view the video by clicking here. At 7:00 a.m. yesterday morning, the Fire Family Transport Foundation launched from Floyd Bennett Field on Long...

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled Saudi Arabia could not be held liable for the September 11 attacks against the United States despite charitable donations that ended up in the hands of Al-Qaeda. Upholding a 2006 decision by a lower court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled inadmissible a lawsuit in which families of victims of the 9/11 attacks charged that Saudi Arabia, four Saudi princes, a Saudi charity and bank had given material support to Al-Qaeda. The plaintiffs in the case cited Saudi donations to Muslim charity groups that were later transferred to the Al-Qaeda...

A federal appeals court today rejected lawsuits by victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against Saudi Arabia and senior members of the Saudi royal family, alleging that they helped foster al-Qaeda and other Islamist terrorist groups. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, ruling in Manhattan, said Saudi Arabia and members of its royal family were protected from being sued because the State Department had not officially designated the desert kingdom as a supporter of terrorism. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, foreign governments are immune from such lawsuits unless the State Department finds in advance that...

Arizona Sen. John McCain’s campaign will donate $5,000 to the Flight 93 National Memorial. Paul Lindsay, the senator’s Pennsylvania campaign press spokesman, on Tuesday confirmed a report by network television stations that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate’s campaign will donate the contribution it received in April from Ted Stevens’ Northern Light PAC to the memorial. Indicted Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska pleaded not guilty on Thursday to accusations of planning to conceal thousands of dollars worth of gifts from an oil-services company. King Laughlin, campaign manager for the National Park Foundation, said he was aware of the news reports, but...