Free Republic

NEW YORK — The families of people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks have been invited to military installations in four states to watch pretrial hearings in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for five men charged with planning or assisting the terrorist strike. The hearings, which begin Monday, are closed to the public, but relatives who register in advance can watch on closed-circuit television at forts in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York City. The suspects on trial before the military commission include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday outlined his plan to help President Obama close Guantánamo if the administration agrees to abandon a civilian New York terror trial for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in favor of a military tribunal. BY MARK SAPPENFIELD On Sunday, two moderate senators defended President Obama’s apparent willingness to reconsider his administration’s decision to use a civilian New York terror trial for the admitted mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The first, Senator Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina, is seen as the architect behind the Obama administration’s potential change in plans. He has promised...

Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson joined a bipartisan effort on Wednesday to block the administration from trying the Sept. 11th suspects in civilian courts. Nelson (Neb.) signed onto legislation offered by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.) to require military commission trials for those suspects. Nelson made the announcement in a conference call with reporters, primarily citing the costs of security for the trials. “I believe that given the severe costs and security risks associated with holding these trials in civilian court, the best course of action would be to use military commissions,” Nelson said. “When...

The Bloomberg administration has placed the price for security operations for the trials of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other terrorism suspects connected to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, at more than $200 million a year, which would make it by far the costliest security operation for a single event in the city in recent memory. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg outlined the city’s projected security expenses in a two-page letter that was sent on Tuesday to Peter R. Orszag, the director of the federal Office of Management and Budget. The letter, which seeks federal reimbursement for the full costs of...

NEW YORK, DECEMBER 5, 2009 — Several thousand protesters gathered at Foley Square in New York City to rally against Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and 4 other 9/11 co-conspirators as civilians in federal court. Despite bitter cold, strong winds and heavy rain the crowd stayed through the 2-hour rally. The event was organized by the 9/11 Coalition to Never Forget and featured speakers representing 9/11 family members, first responders and our troops. See our full post-rally press release, plus videos, photograph and links to local and national news reports here at 911NeverForget.Us.

Stars Express Support For Military Commissions, Support Reversing Holder’s Decision NEW YORK, DECEMBER 5, 2009 — Today, some of America’s most gifted actors and entertainers have signed a statement expressing outrage over Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four 9/11 co-conspirators in a civilian court in New York City... (See which stars have the courage to stand up in our nation's defense and read their statement after the jump.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Zeiser at bill.zeiser@gmail.com (516) 448-5489 Website: www.911neverforget.us SPEAKER LIST FOR THE 9/11 NEVER FORGET COALITION DECEMBER 5 RALLY When: Saturday, December 5th, 2009 12:00 noon; Where: Foley Square, New York City; Who: The 9/11 Never Forget Coalition, a diverse group of 9/11 victims, family members, first responders, active and reserve members of the military, veterans, and concerned Americans, is holding a major rally on December 5th to protest Attorney General Eric Holder’s plan to bring the 9/11 terrorist conspirators to trial in New York City. Confirmed speakers list: DAVID BEAMER David Beamer is the father...

The bottom line for the editors at the New York Daily News is this: "[Khalid Sheikh] Mohammed belongs in front of one of the fully constitutional military tribunals created by Congress expressly for the purpose of trying his ilk, rather than being given a propaganda platform that downgrades the notion from an act of war into a crime. If you're appalled by the Ghailani preview, we can guarantee you'll hate the Mohammed feature-length movie even more. So stop it from coming to a theater near you. Join the rally. (I'll only add: the 911NeverForget rally is noon today, in Foley...

Husband of WTC survivor Lauren, Greg Manning appeared on Fox News this morning about our rally tomorrow, Saturday December 5, at noon in Foley Square, in lower Manhattan. The rally will be in front of the same federal courthouse -- a mere six blocks from al Qaeda's greatest victory -- where AG Eric Holder thinks war criminals Khalid Sheihk Mohammed should be given a stage, Constitutional rights, the right to act as his own attorney, and to see the classified evidence against him during time of war. Greg Manning calls the decision "outrageous." (Click here to watch the Fox News...

“Holding this trial in a civilian court in NYC is giving Khalid Shaikh Mohamed a platform greater than he ever dreamed possible. In effect, the trial allows him and the terrorists to hold the Mother of all Press Conferences in front of the entire world. We are handing him a microphone to the world, and with it he will recruit future jihadists.” These are the words of Debra Burlingame, founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America and one of the organizers of the 9/11 Never Forget Rally to take place at noon this Saturday, Dec. 5, at...

There is a lesson here. KSM & Co. do not have to be brought to the United States — a move that would make it significantly more likely that other Gitmo detainees, trained terrorists, would be transferred here. Similarly, KSM & Co. do not have to be given a civilian trial — a move that would make it far more difficult to justify military commissions for lesser terrorists. This is not a fait accompli. It is still possible to block these developments and to induce the Obama administration to reverse itself. But doing so will require the same two things...

"KSM describes a grandiose original plan ... KSM himself was to land the tenth plane at a U.S. airport and, after killing all adult male passengers on board and alerting the media, deliver a speech excoriating U.S. support for Israel, the Philippines, and repressive governments in the Arab world. Beyond KSM's rationalizations about targeting the U.S. economy, this vision gives a better glimpse of his true ambitions. This is theater, a spectacle of destruction with KSM as the self-cast star -- the superterrorist." -- page 154, 9/11 Commission Report Attorney General Eric Holder wants to fly Khalid Shiekh Mohammed...

The attorney general has suggested that those who oppose prosecuting these men here in New York City are afraid – that we somehow don’t have the courage to face Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in court. How dare this man, who didn’t have the decency to notify victims’ families of his decision to bring these monsters here, imply that we lack courage. Courage is carrying on after watching your loved ones die, in real time, knowing that they burned to death, were crushed to death, or jumped from 100 flights high. Courage is carrying on, even as we waited, in some cases...

Syndicated talk-radio host Mark Levin spoke with former Assistant United States Attorney Andrew McCarthy this evening about AG Eric Holder's decision to prosecute 9/11’s conspirators, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four lieutenants, in federal court a mere 6 blocks from Ground Zero. "The Cole bombing did not prompt a military war against al-Qaeda. It eventually resulted in a civilian indictment that is still pending. The Pentagon is the ultimate military target, and the attack against it spurred both the war we are now fighting and the implementation of military commissions to try jihadist war criminals. Yet, Holder has decided to give...

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...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Military judges on Wednesday will consider motions by the Obama administration to suspend the Guantanamo war crimes trials for 120 days during a review of the system for prosecuting suspected terrorists. The motions, filed late Tuesday at the direction of President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will be heard in the cases of five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks and of Canadian Omar Khadr, who is accused of killing an American soldier with a grenade in Afghanistan in 2002.... snip ...Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, who were...

PARIS - Zacarias Moussaoui's mother said Thursday a life sentence for her son was more cruel than putting him to death because now he will "live like a rat in a hole." Aicha El Wafi, who returned to France earlier this week, said the trial was a masquerade that did not prove her son's guilt, and she accused the French government of not fighting hard enough for him, saying it did not want to oppose the United States. El Wafi, dressed in black, was emotional and nervous as she spoke with reporters a day after the jury in Alexandria, Va.,...

Mr Mzoudi admits knowing the hijackers but not their plans A German court has agreed to allow a new prosecution witness in the trial of an 11 September suspect which appeared to have all but crumbled last month. The dramatic move has delayed the verdict in the case of Abdelghani Mzoudi which was expected this week. Mr Mzoudi, 31, is accused of being an accessory to the murder of more than 3,000 in the 2001 attacks on America and membership of a terrorist group. The Moroccan national was freed after new evidence cast doubt over the case. It's a...