US Wrestles whether to try "Alleged" Pakistan Terrorist in US Military Forum or NY Federal Court

GDO REPORT

US Sees a Terror Threat; Pakistanis See a Heroine - (Click to View Video)

Photo:  In this image from video released by NBC, Vice President Joe Biden appears from Vancouver, Canada, on "Meet the Press" in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. Pingponging across the airwaves, Vice President Joe Biden and predecessor Cheney bickered Sunday over terror trials and interrogations. Biden called Cheney "misinformed or he is misinforming" on current national security strategies.

Some observers were cautious about giving credence to the claim that Gadahn was in custody as reports emerged that the man arrested might instead be a Taliban militant leader. There was no way of independently verifying the arrest or identity, and detentions of terror suspects in Pakistan are often surrounded by conflicting reports.

"If this is him, it's a big capture and a morale-booster," said Patrick Rowan, the former top anti-terrorism official in the Bush Justice Department.

Gadahn, the first American to face treason charges in more than 50 years, has appeared in more than half a dozen al-Qaida videos, taunting the West and calling for its destruction. The video that surfaced Sunday showed him urging American Muslims to attack their own country.

"It's a blow to al-Qaida and a boost to the U.S. when a guy that has been taunting the U.S. for years has been captured," Rowan said.

Gadahn was arrested in the sprawling southern metropolis of Karachi in recent days, two officers who took part in the operation said. A senior government official also confirmed the arrest, but said it happened Sunday. The discrepancy could not immediately be resolved.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The intelligence officials said Gadahn was being interrogated by Pakistani officials. Pakistani agents and those from the CIA work closely on some operations in Pakistan, but it was not clear if any Americans were involved in the operation or questioning.

In the past, Pakistan has handed over some al-Qaida suspects arrested on its soil to the United States.

If the man in custody is indeed Gadahn and authorities can get him to talk, he could offer valuable intelligence about al-Qaida's second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri and maybe even Osama bin Laden, Rowan said.

Gadahn has been on the FBI's most wanted list since 2004 and there is a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He was charged with treason in 2006 and faces the death penalty if convicted. He was also charged with two counts of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Gadahn grew up on a goat farm in Riverside County, California, and converted to Islam at a mosque in nearby Orange County.

He moved to Pakistan in 1998, according to the FBI, and is said to have attended an al-Qaida training camp six years later, serving as a translator and consultant. He is known by various aliases, including Yahya Majadin Adams and Azzam al-Amriki.

In the video posted Sunday, he praised the U.S. Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood, Texas, as a role model for other Muslims. It appeared to have been made after the end of the year, but it was unclear exactly when.

"You shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that military bases are the only high-value targets in America and the West. On the contrary, there are countless other strategic places, institutions and installations which, by striking, the Muslim can do major damage," Gadahn said, an assault rifle leaning up against a wall next to him.

Pakistan joined the U.S. fight against Islamic extremists following the Sept. 11 attacks, and several high-ranking al-Qaida and Taliban have been arrested. But critics have accused the country of not fully cracking down on militants, especially those who do not stage attacks in Pakistan, while receiving billions of dollars in U.S. aid.

Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the country, most likely close to the Afghan border.

Al-Qaida has used Gadahn as its chief English-speaking spokesman. In one video, he ceremoniously tore up his American passport. In another, he admitted his grandfather was Jewish, ridiculing him for his beliefs and calling for Palestinians to continue fighting Israel.

Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Southfield, Michigan, condemned Gadahn's call for violence, calling it a "desperate" attempt by Al-Qaida's spokesman to provoke bloodshed within the U.S.

Walid, a Navy veteran, said Muslims have honorably served in the American military will be unimpressed by al-Qaida's message aimed at their ranks.

"We thoroughly repudiate and condemn his statement and what we believe are his failed attempts to incite loyal American Muslims in the military," he said.

Imad Hamad, the senior national adviser for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, based in Dearborn, Michigan, condemned al-Qaida's message and said it would have no impact on American Muslims.

"This a worthless rhetoric that is not going to have any effect on people's and minds and hearts," he said.

A leader of the Southern California mosque where Gadahn once worshipped said he was relieved to hear about the possible arrest.

"We are grateful to God that one less headache is off our hands," said Haitham Bundakji, vice chairman of the Islamic Society of Orange County. "The less troublemakers there are at large, the less troubles there are for us at home."

The last person in the U.S. convicted of treason was Tomoya Kawakita, a Japanese-American sentenced to death in 1952 for tormenting American prisoners of war during World War II. President Dwight D. Eisenhower later commuted his sentence to life imprisonment.

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USVP JOE Biden: Military trial possible for 9/11 suspect

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden says the administration has not ruled out a military trial for the professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks even if a civilian trial would be preferable.

Biden, in defending the Obama administration from critics of its approach to prosecuting accused terrorists, said in interviews aired Sunday that it is not yet clear where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Sept. 11 suspects held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be tried.

However, Biden said he believes Mohammed will be found guilty regardless of the venue. His remarks echoed comments last month by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who said Mohammed "is going to meet justice and he's going to meet his maker."

President Barack Obama will make the final decision about the trial, Biden said.

Republicans and some Democrats argue that terrorists should be treated not as criminals but as enemy combatants and tried by military commission.

"These policies are ill-conceived and they need to stop and start over," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Graham said he favors closing the jail at Guantanamo Bay because its existence helps recruit terrorists to al-Qaida. But he said that treating terrorists as criminals to be tried in civilian courts "is a huge mistake that will come back to haunt us."

Graham also said he thinks Obama should replace John Brennan, the president's counterterrorism adviser. Brennan on Saturday said that the rate of former Guantanamo inmates engaging in extremist or militant behavior — roughly one in five — "isn't that bad" compared to recidivism rates for U.S. prisoners of around 50 percent.

"Do you want someone in charge of counterterrorism who finds a 20 percent return-to-the-fight rate is acceptable? He has lost my confidence, and it's the best evidence yet how disconnected this administration has come from the fact that we're at war," Graham said.

New York Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said Sunday: "John Brennan should resign or be fired by the president. Anyone who doesn't know the difference between an al-Qaida terrorist and a shoplifter is not serving the country well."

Obama national security adviser James Jones, while not defending Brennan's statement, said Sunday the counterterrorism adviser does his job well and that the White House National Security Council is fortunate to have him.

Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Mohammed's trial would take place in federal court in New York City. City officials later opposed the idea because of security and logistical concerns, and some senators are trying to stop any Guantanamo detainees from being brought to the United States for a civilian trial.

Jones said Holder is heading a review into the matter and will advise Obama on the course to take.

In an interview published Monday in The New York Times, Holder said, "I have to be more forceful in advocating for why I believe these are trials that should be held on the civilian side."

However, Holder did not rule out a military trial for Mohammed, saying, "You have to be flexible."

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a chief critic of the Obama administration, said Sunday that Obama erred in initially pronouncing the accused Christmas Day bomber a lone extremist rather than an extension of the wider al-Qaida network bent on attacking the United States. He also criticized the decision to try the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, in a civilian court.

Cheney, however, acknowledged that the Bush administration handled shoe bomber Richard Reid the same way, when he could have been declared an enemy combatant and held in military custody. The former vice president said he disagreed with that decision at the time. Reid was convicted of trying to bring down an airliner in December 2001.

"We could have put him into military custody," Cheney said.

Cheney reiterated his support for the now-abandoned harsh interrogation program run by the CIA, which included waterboarding — a form of simulated drowning that Obama and Holder have pronounced torture_ and said he thought those methods should have been an option in the interrogation of Abdulmutallab.

Biden appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" and CBS' "Face the Nation." Cheney appeared on ABC's "This Week." Jones appeared on "Fox News Sunday" and CNN's "State of the Union." Graham appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden says the administration has not ruled out a military trial for the professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks even if a civilian trial would be preferable.

Biden, in defending the Obama administration from critics of its approach to prosecuting accused terrorists, said in interviews aired Sunday that it is not yet clear where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Sept. 11 suspects held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be tried.

However, Biden said he believes Mohammed will be found guilty regardless of the venue. His remarks echoed comments last month by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who said Mohammed "is going to meet justice and he's going to meet his maker."

President Barack Obama will make the final decision about the trial, Biden said.

Republicans and some Democrats argue that terrorists should be treated not as criminals but as enemy combatants and tried by military commission.

"These policies are ill-conceived and they need to stop and start over," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Graham said he favors closing the jail at Guantanamo Bay because its existence helps recruit terrorists to al-Qaida. But he said that treating terrorists as criminals to be tried in civilian courts "is a huge mistake that will come back to haunt us."

Graham also said he thinks Obama should replace John Brennan, the president's counterterrorism adviser. Brennan on Saturday said that the rate of former Guantanamo inmates engaging in extremist or militant behavior — roughly one in five — "isn't that bad" compared to recidivism rates for U.S. prisoners of around 50 percent.

"Do you want someone in charge of counterterrorism who finds a 20 percent return-to-the-fight rate is acceptable? He has lost my confidence, and it's the best evidence yet how disconnected this administration has come from the fact that we're at war," Graham said.

New York Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said Sunday: "John Brennan should resign or be fired by the president. Anyone who doesn't know the difference between an al-Qaida terrorist and a shoplifter is not serving the country well."

Obama national security adviser James Jones, while not defending Brennan's statement, said Sunday the counterterrorism adviser does his job well and that the White House National Security Council is fortunate to have him.

Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Mohammed's trial would take place in federal court in New York City. City officials later opposed the idea because of security and logistical concerns, and some senators are trying to stop any Guantanamo detainees from being brought to the United States for a civilian trial.

Jones said Holder is heading a review into the matter and will advise Obama on the course to take.

In an interview published Monday in The New York Times, Holder said, "I have to be more forceful in advocating for why I believe these are trials that should be held on the civilian side."

However, Holder did not rule out a military trial for Mohammed, saying, "You have to be flexible."

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a chief critic of the Obama administration, said Sunday that Obama erred in initially pronouncing the accused Christmas Day bomber a lone extremist rather than an extension of the wider al-Qaida network bent on attacking the United States. He also criticized the decision to try the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, in a civilian court.

Cheney, however, acknowledged that the Bush administration handled shoe bomber Richard Reid the same way, when he could have been declared an enemy combatant and held in military custody. The former vice president said he disagreed with that decision at the time. Reid was convicted of trying to bring down an airliner in December 2001.

"We could have put him into military custody," Cheney said.

Cheney reiterated his support for the now-abandoned harsh interrogation program run by the CIA, which included waterboarding — a form of simulated drowning that Obama and Holder have pronounced torture_ and said he thought those methods should have been an option in the interrogation of Abdulmutallab.

Biden appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" and CBS' "Face the Nation." Cheney appeared on ABC's "This Week." Jones appeared on "Fox News Sunday" and CNN's "State of the Union." Graham appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

Despite criticism from a number of officials past and present, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, about the pending civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Vice President Joe Biden said on "Face the Nation" today that there is "no doubt" the federal court system provides the best way to try to accused Sept. 11, 2001 mastermind.

Attorney General Eric Holder decided to try KSM in federal court in New York, but a number of politicians, from New York and elsewhere, have since spoken out against the plan.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Cheney said he had similarly disagreed when the Bush administration tried shoe bomber Richard Reid in a civilian court, saying he should have been declared an enemy combatant and held in military custody. [Reid was convicted of trying to destroy an airliner in December 2001.]

"We could have put him into military custody," Cheney said.

Biden, however, said civilian trials have been more effective in keeping accused terrorists in prison.

"We have no doubt the best, most effective legal way to get his guy behind bars for the longest time and get the most information with the most certainty is in an Article Three court," he said, referring to the federal system.

Biden told moderator Bob Schieffer that the only reason the president would consider a military tribunal in the case of Mohammed is if Congress were to limit funding a federal case.

The president, however, is now waiting for a recommendation from Holder as to whether there are other options, Biden said.

In the meantime, Biden said the administration is working with lawmakers like Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to make sure the military tribunal system would stand up to constitutional scrutiny.

He also said that the perception that if found guilty KSM is more likely to receive a greater punishment before a military tribunal than in a civilian court is incorrect.

"There have been three people tried and convicted by the last administration in military courts. Two are walking the street right now," Biden said. "There have been over 300 tried in federal courts by the last administration and by us. They're all in jail now."
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Terror on trial: Holder pushes for civilian justice

The Obama administration is using the latest terrorism case in an all-out push to convince a somewhat skeptical U.S. public a trial in a civilian court is a muscular response to terror.

Justice Department officials carefully leaked word Monday Najibullah Zazi, an Afghanistan native and permanent legal U.S. resident living in Colorado, was about to plead guilty in a New York federal court in a plot to bomb the city's subways.

The department also repeatedly notified newsrooms Attorney General Eric Holder would be part of a news conference later Monday in which he would presumably announce the plea.

In prepared remarks, Holder did indeed announce the plea -- the Justice Department e-mailed his remarks to the media twice Monday and again Tuesday -- and gave chilling details of just how close Zazi came to carrying out the bombing. Zazi and fellow conspirators were in New York City and only dumped their explosives when they realized they were under FBI surveillance.

The administration and Holder have been under intense criticism, mainly from Republicans, for trying terror suspects in civilian courts rather than in military tribunals. There is some evidence the criticism has gained traction.

A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated 55 percent of respondents said military tribunals should be used to try terror suspects, with only 39 percent favoring the civilian court system.

In speaking about the Zazi case Monday, Holder tried to drive home the fact that civilian courts have met with success in the terror war.

"This plot is further evidence that al-Qaida continues to plan attacks against the United States," Holder said. "We are at war against a dangerous, intelligent and adaptable enemy, and we must use every weapon available to win that war. In this case, as it has in so many other cases, the criminal justice system has proved to be an invaluable weapon for disrupting plots and incapacitating terrorists, one that works in concert with the intelligence community and our military. We will continue to use it to protect the American people from terrorism.

"As I have stated on other occasions," he added, "the criminal justice system also contains powerful incentives to induce pleas that yield long sentences and gain intelligence that can be used in the fight against al-Qaida."

Zazi, 25, who was recruited and trained by al-Qaida after going to Pakistan to fight for the Taliban, pleaded guilty to three counts, and faces as long as life in prison on two.

The high-profile publicity over Zazi follows some rough treatment of the administration in two other cases -- that of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who has been linked to an al-Qaida group in Yemen and accused of attempting to blow up an airliner flying into Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas Day; and that of other al-Qaida suspects, particularly suspected Sept. 11, 2001, mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, whom the administration plans to try in a civilian court somewhere in New York state.

U.S. officials say Abdulmutallab, 23, gave up a significant amount of information when he was first arrested. But critics say the suspect should not have been told of his Miranda rights -- the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer -- a necessary step if he is to be tried in a civilian court.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged President Barack Obama Feb. 14 to replace counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, and criticized Brennan's supposed role in giving Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights.

"(Brennan) has lost my confidence and is the best evidence yet how disconnected this administration has come from the fact we are at war" with terrorists, Graham said on "Fox News Sunday."

In early January, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani also urged that Abdulmutallab be tried before a military court.

"It seems to me we're going to be trying the most dangerous terrorists in the wrong place," Giuliani, a Republican, told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Dismissing administration contentions Abdulmutallab already had given up valuable intelligence, Giuliani said most terror suspects only provide a mix of truth and lies during the first 30 hours they are questioned and a military trial would give investigators additional time to obtain more information.

"It takes them a lot longer than 30 hours to debrief a terrorist with the kind of history that he appears to have," Giuliani said. "Why would you stop it?"

If anything, Republican criticism has been even more intense over the administration decision to try Mohammed and other Sept. 11 suspects in civilian court. At first, the administration planned the trials for Manhattan, only blocks from where the World Trade Center towers were destroyed.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, also a Republican, initially approved of the trial location. But sensing the change in political winds, Bloomberg last month reversed himself, saying changing the location of Mohammed's trial, possibly to a military base, would be less disruptive and less costly to the city.

Following Bloomberg's reversal -- and that of the city's police commissioner and congressional delegation --- the administration gave in. Officials told the media off the record the trial probably would not be held in Manhattan, and maybe not even in a federal courthouse. Military bases and federal prisons have been mentioned as possible venues for a civilian trial.

The administration now says the president himself will choose the location for a trial, taking Holder -- still holding out for a Manhattan trial -- out of the loop.

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans have been introducing proposals that would end funding for Sept. 11 civilian trials. Such proposals have little hope of passage, but they are still a warning shot across the administration's bow.

Graham touted one such proposal earlier this month, saying the alleged Sept. 11 conspirators should be tried before military commissions. In the U.S. House, Rep. Pete King, R- N.Y., introduced a bill that would bar using Justice Department funds to try any terrorist suspects detained at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center.

The administration's position has not been without its defenders.

"Our system of justice is strong enough to prosecute the people who have attacked us," Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., and Senate Intelligence Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a letter to the president.

Also weighing in on the administration's side: All European countries and Australia try their terror suspects in civilian courts, apparently without incident or much criticism.

Democrats have attempted to counter Republican criticism by pointing out that the Bush administration, at the end of its eight years in power, proudly reported to Congress that it had conducted 300 terror prosecutions in civilian courts.

But such rebuttals appear to have been lost in the whirlwind of criticism reported.