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(CNSNews.com) – Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CNSNews.com that President Barack Obama was giving 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed “his wish” by giving him a trial in federal civilian court instead of trying him before a military tribunal. McCain was asked on Nov. 19 whether the administration might have to produce Mohammed’s CIA interrogators if the terrorist’s defense lawyers call them as witnesses. McCain said the answer was not clear because Obama had opened the civilian justice system to enemy combatants, a move that raised myriad problems and gave Khalid Sheik Mohammed, or KSM, what he wanted.

Lou Dobbs has come closer to death in the last year than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R AZ) issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and four other Al-Qaeda terrorists suspected of planning and executing the September 11th attacks in the United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York: “I am extremely disappointed with the Obama Administration’s decision to try in U.S. civilian courts the Al-Qaeda terrorists who planned, supported, and conducted the September 11th attacks. These terrorists are not common criminals. They are war criminals, who committed acts of war against our citizens and those of...

Some critics say a civilian trial -- instead of a military tribunal -- for self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his accomplices could end up targeting the Bush administration and its anti-terror policies. The Obama administration, in deciding to try alleged Sept. 11 conspirators in a New York courtroom, has said it is setting its sights on convictions, but some critics say a civilian trial -- instead of a military tribunal -- could end up targeting the Bush administration and its anti-terror policies. One of those five defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, has been at the center of the...

WASHINGTON -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and four others accused in the attacks will be put on criminal trial in New York, Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to announce later Friday. The decision, described by people familiar with the matter, is part of wider announcement planned on how to bring to justice detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison. It's the first set of decisions before a Monday deadline on how to deal with the more than 200 prisoners remaining at the facility, which President Barack Obama has ordered closed.

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, an Obama administration official told The Associated Press on Friday. The official said that Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to announce the decision later Friday morning. The official was not authorized to discuss the decision before the announcement and was speaking on condition of anonymity.

SNIPPET: "How Did the Posting of the Photos Actually Play Out? 1. At some point in July 2009, International Red Cross delegates photographed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his nephew, Ammar al-Baluchi. These photos were taken as part of a service that the ICRC has provided to at least the 107 detainees at Guantanamo who opted in. The service includes provide their families with photographed evidence that the detainee is alive and not being mistreated. 2. Specifically, each detainee selects their two favorite poses and print copies of those photographs along with a note from the ICRC are transmitted by the...

CIA interrogator threatened to kill children of September 11 mastermind A CIA interrogator threatened to kill the children of the September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed if al-Qa'eda attacked the US again. Alex Spillius in Washington 24 Aug 2009 A CIA interrogator threatened to kill the children of the the September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed if al-Qa'eda attacked the US again, according to a declassified report. Photo: AP A newly declassified report, released by the US justice department, said that one interrogator had said a colleague told the al-Qaeda terrorist that if any other attacks happened in the US,...

MSNBC gas bag Keith Olbermann has challenged Sean Hannity to undergo waterboarding. Hannity, who (like me) thinks waterboarding helped our intelligence thwart a September 11th style attack on Los Angeles, said on his show the other night that he would subject himself to waterboarding and donate the proceeds to the families of soldiers. I have a challenge of my own for Olbermann.

According to the May 30, 2005 Bradbury memo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003 and Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in August 2002. On page 37 of the OLC memo, in a passage discussing the differences between SERE techniques and the torture used with detainees, the memo explains: The CIA used the waterboard “at least 83 times during August 2002″ in the interrogation of Zubaydah. IG Report at 90, and 183 times during March 2003 in the interrogation of KSM, see id. at 91. Note, the information comes from the CIA IG report which, in...

Two of the five men accused of orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks offered unapologetic admissions of guilt Monday in a sometimes chaotic - and possibly final - session of the Guantanamo war crimes court. The hearings, scheduled over several days, could be the last at Guantanamo, since President-elect Barack Obama has said he would close the offshore prison at the U.S. base in Cuba and many expect him to suspend the military tribunals and order new trials in the U.S. Ramzi Binalshibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed architect of the terrorist attacks, casually admitted guilt during a series of...

A full week of pretrial hearings is set to begin at the US naval base here Monday as incoming US president Barack Obama prepares to shut down the controversial "war on terror" detention camp. A mental competence hearing is scheduled for Ramzi bin al-Shibh, alleged co-conspirator of the September 11, 2001 attacks. All five men charged with plotting the attacks are expected to appear at the hearing. In December, the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants said they would submit guilty pleas to terror charges pending mental competency evaluations. Judge Stephen Henley said the defendants also wanted...

A U.S. military judge has denied a request from professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for Internet access inside his Guantanamo cell, ruling he does not need it to prepare for his death penalty trial. Judge Ralph Kohlmann, a Marine colonel, said Mohammed knew he would face prison restrictions when he chose to act as his own lawyer. His Oct. 6 ruling — which also applies to four co-defendants — was reviewed Sunday on a Pentagon Web site. The five defendants held at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base face charges including conspiracy, hijacking and terrorism for the Sept. 11,...

9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed dropped his legal defense and demanded the death penalty at his Guantanamo Bay arraignment hearing Thursday morning. U.S. military judge Marine Col. Ralph Kolman asked Mohammed if he understood he would be executed if convicted for his role in organizing largest ever terrorist attack on American soil. "Yes, this is what I wish, to be a martyr for a long time," Mohammed told Kohlman. "I will, God willing, have this, by you." Making sure Mohammed understood, Kohlmann asked again, “So you could be sentenced to death?” Kolhmann got an angry retort. "Maybe you didn't understand...

U.S. NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, June 5, 2008 – Five accused terrorists heard the charges filed against them for their alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America at an arraignment held here today. The judge, Marine Col. Ralph H. Kohlmann, informed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Ramzi bin al Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi of the nature of the charges filed against them, which include terrorism, conspiracy, hijacking and murder. All of the defendants voluntarily attended today’s arraignment proceedings. All five would reject court-appointed defense...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — The accused mastermind of the worst terror attack in U.S. history told a Guantanamo Bay military judge on Thursday that he wants to be put to death so he can become a martyr. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also sang verses from the Koran, rejected his attorneys and told Judge Ralph Kohlmann, a Marine colonel, that he wants to represent himself at the war crimes trial. The judge warned that he faces execution if convicted of organizing the attacks on America. But the former No. 3 leader of Al Qaeda was insistent.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said Thursday that he would welcome the death penalty for his confessed role as mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Yes, this is what I wish, to be a martyr for a long time," Mohammed told a military judge who warned that he faces execution if convicted of organizing the attacks on America. "I will, God willing, have this, by you." The former No. 3 leader of al-Qaida and four alleged co-conspirators were being arraigned Thursday in their long-awaited first appearance before a war-crimes tribunal. All five face death...

Military defense lawyers are seeking to delay the upcoming arraignment of five Guantanamo detainees suspected in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The attorneys say the government has made it impossible to prepare for the June 5 hearing at the naval base in Cuba.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Military lawyers for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and four alleged coconspirators are arguing that charges against their clients should be dropped following illegal meddling by a Pentagon official. A motion filed late last week before a U.S. war-crimes tribunal at Guantanamo argues that the case has been tainted by the involvement of the tribunals' legal adviser, Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, who was removed from another case because he lacked the required neutrality. The defendants are to be arraigned June 5 at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base...

ACLU wants to help defend alleged Sept. 11 mastermind By Carol Rosenberg McClatchy Newspapers The American Civil Liberties Union, which for years has scorned Pentagon military commissions as "kangaroo courts," announced Friday it will try to provide top civilian defense attorneys for alleged terrorists facing trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba -- with special emphasis on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Former Attorney General Janet Reno is among top lawyers who have endorsed the $8.5 million effort, which will help coordinate and defray the attorneys' expenses. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said a...