Problem with your theory is that 9/11 happened before they were water boarded. The 9/11 plans were in place long before Bush was in office. America is on trial, not just Bush and Cheney.
When 9/11 occurred or when it was planned is not relevant to the "defense" strategy. As I said, they do not intend to contest (at least with any vigor) the guilt of their clients. Rather, they are going to argue that their clients are not fit to stand trial because of their current mental states, and that their current mental states are a direct result of their interrogation and incarceration. So what will be argued at trial is the post-detention treatment of the accused. Airing this in a public forum is all Holder and Obama are after.
As for your remark about all America being on trial, there may be some truth to that on some level. But the goal will be to lay the blame on the Bush administration. The press will certainly be happy to play along with the narrative of a "rogue" Bush administration sullying our nation's reputation. And they get to undermine and demoralize the military and the intelligence establishment as a bonus. A progressive left three-fer as it were.
They were not Mirandized. They were “tortured.” They were held for eight years.
Case dismissed. Victory for Shaikh Obama.