Want closure for attacks on America? Youll get more at a trial near Ground Zero than a torturous commission at Guantánamo
The American public has had a pretty good demonstration over the last couple of weeks in how a US federal court handles a big terrorism case. The New York City trial of Osama bin Ladens son-in-law, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, has so far gone off without a hitch: jury was selected, opening statements were made, evidence was produced, witnesses were questioned.
Which is to say, apart from the extra metal detector outside courtroom 26A and an uptick in media interest, it was more or less business as usual for the US District Court in lower Manhattan, a few blocks from the World Trade Center site.
In disrupting potential attacks and effectively interrogating, prosecuting and incarcerating terrorists, there is, quite simply, no more powerful tool than our civilian court system.
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