WASHINGTON (AP) — Four years after his failed effort to bring the 9/11 mastermind to New York for trial, President Barack Obama has reinstated the federal courthouse as America’s preferred venue for prosecuting suspected terrorists.
His administration has done so by quietly securing conviction after conviction in the civilian judicial system. Meanwhile at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s case moves at a snail’s pace.
Today’s expected arraignment of suspected al-Qaida member Abu Anas al-Libi is the latest example of Obama’s de facto policy. Al- Libi was captured in a military raid in Libya earlier this month and had been under interrogation aboard a U.S. warship.
The Obama administration says it considers all options for prosecuting terrorists, weighing military and civilian trials on a caseby case basis.
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