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The KSM Trial Will Be an Intelligence Bonanza for al Qaeda
WSJ ^ | 11/15/09

Posted on 11/15/2009 10:07:52 PM PST by FromLori

The government will have to choose between vigorous prosecution and revealing classified sources and methods.

This is a prosecutorial decision as well as a national security decision," President Barack Obama said last week about the attorney general's announcement that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other al Qaeda operatives will be put on trial in New York City federal court.

No, it is not. It is a presidential decision—one about the hard, ever-present trade-off between civil liberties and national security.

Trying KSM in civilian court will be an intelligence bonanza for al Qaeda and the hostile nations that will view the U.S. intelligence methods and sources that such a trial will reveal. The proceedings will tie up judges for years on issues best left to the president and Congress.

Whether a jury ultimately convicts KSM and his fellows, or sentences them to death, is beside the point. The treatment of the 9/11 attacks as a criminal matter rather than as an act of war will cripple American efforts to fight terrorism. .

. He was the brains behind a succession of operations against the U.S., including the 1996 "Bojinka plot" to crash jetliners into American cities.

Now, however, KSM and his co-defendants will enjoy the benefits and rights that the Constitution accords to citizens and resident aliens—including the right to demand that the government produce in open court all of the information that it has on them, and how it got it.

Prosecutors will be forced to reveal U.S. intelligence on KSM, the methods and sources for acquiring its information, and his relationships to fellow al Qaeda operatives. The information will enable al Qaeda to drop plans and personnel whose cover is blown. It will enable it to detect our means of intelligence-gathering, and to push forward into areas we know nothing

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; birthcertificate; cipa; federalcourt; johnyoo; ksm; ksmtrial; military; obama; palin; statesecrets; terrorists; waronterror; yoo
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To: FromLori

The way things are going, they’ll probably have the trial in Dearborn with a bunch of mussies as jurors.


41 posted on 11/16/2009 9:47:54 AM PST by lwd
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To: lwd

Indeed, I have suggested that the first things the defense counsel will do is move for change of venue -— to Detroit, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, etc.


42 posted on 11/16/2009 10:09:13 AM PST by doug from upland (Barack Hussein Obama - making Jimmy Carter look better every day)
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To: FromLori

BM


43 posted on 11/16/2009 11:59:12 AM PST by Para-Ord.45
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To: FromLori

We should bear in mind what the purpose of terrorism is. There was no terrorism until there was mass-media. Killing civilians is not the object, but a means to an end. The object of terrorism to get attention that is disproportionate to the numbers of people involved.

[You can’t get cameras pointing at you if you are making your case peacefully through persuasion and negotiating in good faith.]

Keeping these terrorists in Guantanamo deprived them of the media access that is critical to keep their causes in the forefront. No trials, no protesters, nothing but unverifiable stories emerging from a place that few people have ever seen. That is why it is ideal.

Now we are giving them what they want and need — at the expense of our short-term security and long-term survival.


44 posted on 11/16/2009 12:26:23 PM PST by walford (http://the-big-pic.org)
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To: FromLori

bttt


45 posted on 11/16/2009 1:18:39 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: Candor7

Does no one in government have the ability to over-ride the Holder edict? This must not go forward.


46 posted on 11/16/2009 3:51:23 PM PST by La Enchiladita
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To: FromLori
What a difference 5 years makes! KSM before, and now, in full jihadi regalia! I wonder if he'll show up to court dressed like this.

Bet he'd drive the ladies of Islam crazy at www.MuslimMatch.com /sarc

47 posted on 11/16/2009 4:23:20 PM PST by thecraw (God allows evil...God allowed Hussein...Lord willing he'll give us Sarah to clean up the huge mess.)
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To: thecraw

The look alone will probably intimidate some jurors he looks possessed.


48 posted on 11/16/2009 4:37:28 PM PST by FromLori (FromLori)
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To: FromLori
The look alone will probably intimidate some jurors he looks possessed.

Yes, by Satan Allah!

49 posted on 11/16/2009 4:56:37 PM PST by thecraw (God allows evil...God allowed Hussein...Lord willing he'll give us Sarah to clean up the huge mess.)
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To: thecraw

Some believe they are the same.


50 posted on 11/16/2009 5:13:38 PM PST by FromLori (FromLori)
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