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A PROPOSAL TO allow alleged perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks to plead guilty and avoid the death penalty poses a powerful dilemma for victims’ families, some of whom still want to seek the ultimate retribution after two decades of legal limbo.
The proposal detailed by prosecutors in a letter this month could offer families of the nearly 3,000 victims the best path to a resolution of a case bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings in the Guantanamo military commissions for years – and with no end in sight.
For some families of those killed in New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania say a deal without a trial could mean the entire truth about what happened on 11 September, 2001 might never be told.
Others say that every year of delay means that more people pass away without seeing justice for their slain relatives – and increases the risk that the aging defendants themselves could die without ever being found guilty.
“All 9/11 family members want justice and accountability. Too many of us have died in the last two decades without either,” said September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, which backs the plea deal.
“Plea agreements, which could be made right now, would offer finality: an end to the 9/11 military commission, clear admissions of guilt, and life sentences without parole or any possibility of appeal,” they said.
But Dennis McGinley of the group 9/11 Justice said the deal would leave untold the full story behind the attack that killed his brother Danny in the south tower of the World Trade Center.
“All this is, is… to prevent a trial from taking place where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is going to have to spill the beans,” he said, referring to the self-described 9/11 mastermind also known as “KSM.”
The deal, outlined in a letter from the office of the chief prosecutor for the Pentagon-run military tribunals, has been in preparation for two years in the case of KSM, Ammar al-Baluchi, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
Each has been held for more than 16 years at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they are among the last 30 of what was once nearly 800 people detained extrajudicially by the United States after 9/11.
They were formally arraigned in 2012 for the case, but since the beginning it has been mired in debates over prosecutors’ intent to use evidence that defense attorneys say was extracted through systematic torture at the hands of the CIA.
The letter implicitly acknowledges that prosecutors cannot say when a full trial would begin, if ever.
In the proposed deal, the accused “would accept criminal responsibility for their actions and plead guilty to the charged offenses in exchange for not receiving the death penalty,” the letter said.
It said the defendants would have to agree to a “stipulation of facts,” which would provide details of the 11 September plot and their roles in it.
While the prosecutors said no deal was finalized, the letter was confirmation that such an arrangement appears to be where the case is heading.
And, indeed, the prospect of more delays sharpened last week when a military judge in a separate Guantanamo case rejected torture-tainted confessions.
Dropping the death penalty in the case though could spark an emotional backlash not only from victims’ families but from Americans across the country, where anger remains deep over the Al-Qaeda attack.
“Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 perpetrators should never be given a plea deal and should face the full measure of justice for their actions – the death penalty,” said New York Congressman Mike Lawler, criticising President Joe Biden for the deal.
But Terry Rockefeller, of the Peaceful Tomorrows group, said the deal is the best chance for families to get closure, with the certainty that defendants will have no ability to appeal.
Rockefeller, whose sister died in the World Trade Center, said that in private meetings earlier this year, prosecutors had no answer when asked how long a trial might take.
“The military commissions have by and large been a failed system,” she said.
Moreover, she said, “no trial is going to lead to a death penalty because of the torture issue.”
McGinley said the type of punishment didn’t matter to him at this point.
“Whether it’s the death penalty or life in prison, I want whatever the terrorists don’t want,” he said.
But he argued that a settlement will allow the government to keep information classified about the attacks – information he said would implicate Saudi Arabia more deeply in the carnage.
Riyadh has long denied any links with the hijackers, but suspicions have lingered over whether the attacks were funded with Saudi money, and McGinley’s group alleges that Saudi agents were involved in various ways.
He thinks a trial – with all evidence declassified – would be the best chance for families to get justice after two decades of waiting.
“The 9/11 community has been getting used and abused by our government for the last 22 years. At this point, it’s almost cruel and unusual punishment,” he said.
- AFP 2023
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Still funny that America hasn’t attacked Saudi Arabia yet.
@Gemma Sexton: Explain why that’s still ” Funny ” enlighten us please
@Trent: because if they really did do the attack they would have attacked them.
@Trent: Saudi citizens , some of whom are Sheiks are said to have financed and supported the attack . Just like the 1993 attack. Nothing proven in relation to the high status citizens . Maybe it’s true maybe it’s not . Problem is , Saudis really aren’t a group to mess with and the west knows it . A lot of oil dependency and wealth too. Saudis have for decades had money in major banks and corporations and sport (horse racing ) in the west . Not to mention what it would do in the Middle East . Unlike say Iraq and Afghanistan , Saudis aren’t spot targets in comparison
@pBDSiMMi: hmm even if it’s true not so sure . US have avoided like a plague any confrontation with North Korea (poseurs ) , China ( unproven military ) or Iran , or directly with Russia. They prefer softer targets like Iraq and Afghanistan. Saudi Arabia money and oil seems to have protected them from any attacks and serious embargo’s from the West over the decades
@Christy Dolan: Maybe. I see it a bit differently – SArabia being a known factor, as opposed to some power vacuum if defeated. If that happened, they might be replaced by worse rulers. As things stand, they’re already known, so that might be considered the more stable situation.
22 years on ,, those families will never see justice at least not in their lifetimes
@Trent: When do the families in Afghanistan get justice for all their loved ones killed in the illegal US Invasion?.
@Roy Dowling: Ask the Taliban if your that concerned ,, think we all know what answer you’d get
@Trent: Like the people affected by the Stardust fire. Every few years there is another investigation that goes nowhere or some enquiry designed to top up legal folks bank accounts.
Never answers though.
@Trent: No I’m asking you. But of course the people of Afghanistan are of no concern to you. They are not from the western world so you don’t care that the Americans illegally invaded their country killing tens of thousands of them.
@Roy Dowling: Whatever Ray it’s sunday and i’m going out for a Carvery a few pints and watch the match .. enjoy your day Ray
@Trent: Justice?
Were the attacks on the Twin Towers not a form of justice?
Or do you think that the US can bomb and kill throughout the Middle East with no consequences?
What were those attacks except some trying to obtain what they regard as justice?
If the US had not being doing what it did, there would have been no attacks on the Twin Towers.
@David Corrigan: There is an on-going inquest into the Stardust tragedy. This inquest has been established to discover the truth about what happened that night, not to line the pockets of the legal profession. It’s 40 years overdue, but has been welcomed by the families. Let it do its work before passing judgement.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Make sure you tip the front desk on your way out of the Asylum
@Roy Dowling: Afghanistan was never declared an illegal invasion. Iraq was . At least the war on Afghanistan had a small degree of legality and legitimacy IF they were hiding Bin Laden and chums . Interesting that Pakistan never got a slap in the hand for their role protecting them jumping over to their borders
@Roy Dowling: you got your countries wrong . Iraq was illegal, Afghanistan was not illegal , that at least had some legitimate basis
@Christy Dolan: Both were illegal. Afghanistan had no legitimate basis. The Afghanistan government didn’t attack the twin towers. I wonder if the world would have called it a legitimate invasion if Britain decided to invade Ireland again to catch the terrorists here that attacked it’s homeland?
@Trent: No denial of US atrocities then?
And no denial that these have led to the rise of Al Qaeda, just as the British led to the rise of the Fenians, the IRB and the IRA?
The cause of the attacks on th Twin Towers was the activities of the US.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: In fact OBL stated that 9/11 was because of the US’ support for Israel and what it’s done to the Palestinians.
OBL of course was on the payroll of the US in AFG for years in the 70s and 80s. Not that the son of one of the richest Saudis needed much help with money.
And of course, Qotb – the guy who created the notion of going to heaven via terrorism – wrote his famous book – OBL used it as his guiding light – anyway, he wrote that book while in prison – and being tortured, by the US puppet government in Egypt.
It all came full circle on 9/11.
@Christy Dolan: OBL was living a few miles from one of the main PK military bases. Loads of people in PK seemed to know he was there… who knows the truth behind all of that… almost no one I’d assume.
@Christy Dolan: How was Afghanistan not illegal?
Afghanistan did not attack, or instigate any attack on the US.
Just as Ireland did not attack the UK, or instigate the attack that almost got Thatcher.
Did the UK invade Ireland after those attacks?
The US refused to recognise the government of Afghanistan. A country that was controlled by regional warlords rather than any central government.
There was no way that any government of Afghanistan could have located, detained and/or extradited Osama bin Laden, even if such an extradition treaty had existed, even if the US had recognised the government of Afghanistan and its rights to exist.
Just as the US was unable to locate, detain and extradite Osama bin Laden in the decades that followed their invasion.
And the later extra-judicial murder of Osama bin Laden, a murder conducted without any trial, once again shows the world just how shameful the US actually is.
I’d like to see an open trial, and see how much the dirty Saudis were involved
@Paul: Wouldn’t it be nice to see evidence of all those bombings and other atrocities carried out by the US in the Middle East that led to the creation of Al Qaeda too.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Dumbest comment ever Al Qaeda attacked America first and dont bring up Dessert storm,, that may have kicked it off,,,, but that was to free kuwait
@Trent: How long had the US been bombing in the Middle East before that, Trent?
I remember reports of US strikes on wedding parties, strikes to ‘get’ some guy they wanted out of the way, strikes that murdered dozens.
Nothing to say about that?
Do you really believe that Osama bin Laden woke up one morning, bored, and just decided that ‘what the hell, I’ll create an organisation to attack the US’?
The activities of the US in the region caused the creation of Al Qaeda, and all that came from that.
@Trent: Of course this isn’t EXACTLY true.
OBL publicly said 9/11 was a response to US support for Israel and it’s actions towards the Palestinians.
Those actions predate 9/11 as you know.
You can say that’s not direct action towards the US, but sure, the US involves itself ON BEHALF of others non-stop.
So you know… It’s not unprovoked.
911 really did a number on the world. Turned the west into a paranoid android for the wealthy.
@Louis Jacob: the wealthy did well out of those two wars if Michael Moore , documentary maker , is to be believed .
Sounds like they know they don’t have enough evidence to convict in open court.
@honey badger: Think he’s talking about the harikrishna’s no where to be seen that day
Lad lassie and any name you want as your moniker 911 was done by the Saudi s and coveted up by the Bushes who would rather slaughter thousands of innocents rather then face truth
Justice delayed, is justice denied, & 22 years is a US disgrace, plus the use of the Guantanamo military concentration camp puts the system in the same standard as Stalinist gulags. Over time to bring this departure from civilised standards to an end & help restore US to an honourable status.
So do people still believe the planes took down the towers?
Nuke the perpetrators
@Robert Halvey: Rob you need to stay off your Xbox ,, I’m sure some Professional has told you that recently ,,
@Trent: lad whiskey in and scenes on hold but in fairness it was the Saudi
@Robert Halvey: don’t call me a Lad Rod ?
The relatives of the dead of 911 need to be heard & should be driving the administrations agenda. The only agenda is the truth & they are the ones most motivated to get to it. I cannot imagine the trauma they have experienced since that terrible day and every day since .
I can’t imagine what it’s like to be them
have your say