The trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

The Obama's administration announcement that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others will be tried in New York City is disturbing to say the least. The reasons for this decision baffle. Despite some quick support in New York itself, as this trial unfolds it seems apparent that, barring guilty pleas, this criminal trial - within walking distance of the place where thousands of people were murdered - is foolish in the extreme. Will this be a jury trial? How will it be remotely possible to get 12 unbiased jurors? What will the psychological effect on New York be? Criminal defendants have expansive rights in the United States. The government will have to protect and defend these men while on trial - affording them all the rights of any accused suspect. That alone is a Pandora's Box.

Both a civilian trial and a military tribunal are the wrong venues. 9/11 changed the dynamic. The event went beyond murder. The Taliban is out of power and Al-Qaeda is not a government entity - yet 9/11 is should be considered a war crime. It was the mass murder of civilians under the direction of a foreign entity. The United States ought set up a war crimes tribunal in a place other than New York. Far from New York. That's my take.