A Brave Move

In the short time he has resided in the White House, Barack Obama has made some gutsy and controversial moves. None quite match the bravery of his recent decision to put the 9/11 suspects on public trial in New York City, the scene of the crime.

I say 'his' decision, although Attorney General Eric Holder is the man directly responsible for the move. Even though the Attorney General is independent of the Chief Executive, it would be hard to imagine Mr. Holder operating without the President's approval on this matter. So let's give Mr. Obama a big thumbs up on this one. It's a brave move. And it's risky.

First off, all of the juicy information garnered through 'enhanced interrogation techniques' by the minions of the Bush Administration won't be admissible in a civilian court. That leaves the prosecutors only evidence gathered through legal means. Hopefully the Bush team remembered to do enough of that in between waterboarding sessions.

The move is also risky since defense attorneys will have plenty of ammunition to claim forced confessions, inappropriate venue, and all sorts of misconduct, in their efforts to get charges reduced or even dropped. In our country, the defense in criminal cases often gets a bad rap -except in TV shows from the 50s, 60s and 70s, when they were heroes - like Perry Mason. In this case even Perry Mason would be booed on the streets for his efforts. But providing a vigorous defense for even the obviously guilty is the most important component of the foundation of our justice system. Hard to swallow at times, like this time, but true.

My guess is the defense will start their case with a motion to change venue, claiming the defendants won't get an impartial hearing in New York. That's not a difficult claim to support, so the judge will have a tough decision. But where to hold the trial if not New York? I really wouldn't want to be that judge.

Finally, the riskiest aspect of this bold move is the opportunity it may give the defendants to attempt to legitimize the 9/11 attacks. Such an attempt wouldn't change the outcome of the trial, but it could serve as a powerful recruiting tool for anti-US extremists worldwide.

Still, we have to trust the President and his Attorney General on this move. Their motive in doing this is clear - to change this 'War on Terror' into the international, cooperative, civilian police action it should always have been from the beginning. To separate the hunt for Al-Qaeda (and Bin Laden) from military efforts to settle the Bush legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And that's a good thing. And a Brave Move.