Online Petition
Petition to Reverse Attorney General Holder's Plan to Try 9/11 Terrorists in Civilian Court
On Friday, November 13, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the United States government will pursue a prosecution in federal court against five detainees who are currently charged in military commissions with conspiring to commit the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 individuals. These detainees are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
WHEREAS the discovery process involved in a civilian trial risks turning over to terrorists critical intelligence information regarding the 9/11 co-conspirators, Al Qaeda and the methods our intelligence officials utilize to track them, and
WHEREAS the civilian trial of the terrorists responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing directly resulted in the disclosure of critical U.S. intelligence to Osama bin Laden and contributed to Al Qaeda's success in carrying out the attacks of September 11, 2001, and
WHEREAS a high-profile trial of high-ranking terrorists is itself at high risk for a terrorist attack, endangering the courthouse, jail facilities, and the lives of jurors, judges, court personnel and law enforcement personnel assigned to the court, and
WHEREAS the higher burden of proof required in a civilian trial raises the possibility that these terrorists could avoid the death penalty or worse, avoid conviction, and
WHEREAS a trial of this nature has the potential to become a trial of the legal methods our intelligence officials utilize to gather information, rather than a trial of the terrorists themselves, and
WHEREAS holding high-ranking terrorists in federal jail facilities gives those terrorists a forum for potential recruitment, and
WHEREAS all of the conditions listed above demonstrate that this decision unnecessarily endangers the lives of all Americans,
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the undersigned individuals join with the American Security Council Foundation in calling for Attorney General Holder to immediately reverse his dangerous decision to withdraw the military commission charges now pending against these 9/11 terrorists and try them instead in civilian courts.
The editorial views expressed herein reflect the position of the American Security Council Foundation, but not necessarily the views of all its members.
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