They’re all held at Gitmo as enemy combatants, and will be tried under military tribunals. Expect the ACLU to provide for their defense as much as possible while Rosie O’Donnell tries to convince View watchers that they’re not the be-all end-all of terrorism.
The U.S. military announced sweeping criminal charges Monday against six top al-Qaeda suspects, including alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, for their roles in the 2001 terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and thrust the U.S. into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann says military prosecutors will request that the defendants face the death penalty if convicted under the military tribunal system…
In addition to Sheik Mohammed, known as “KSM,” the others charged are:
* Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who allegedly helped find the flight schools where the hijackers were trained.
* Mohamed al-Qahtani, thought to be the so-called “20th hijacker” who was refused entry into the United States at the Orlando, airport a few weeks before the attacks.
* Ali al-Aziz Ali, accused of funneling thousands of dollars to the hijackers to finance flight training and living expenses in the U.S.
* Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawawi, alleged to have assisted hijackers in obtaining credit cards and western clothing.
* Walid bin-Attash, accused of arranging training for hijackers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
All of the defendants are being held at the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The military will recommend that the six men be tried together.
But the cases may be clouded because of recent revelations that Sheik Mohammmed was subject to a harsh interrogation technique known as waterboarding — which critics call torture.
Hartmann said it will be up to the military judge to determine what evidence is allowed and that prosecutors “can’t compel the CIA” to produce information. We “evaluate evidence that comes to us and review it to determine if there’s probable cause,” he said.
That’s where the ACLU/Wahhabist-backed, Obama-endorsing Gitmo Lawyers Guild is likely to attack the case.
