The Obama administration blundered by seeking to try in U.S. civilian courts some terrorism suspects (and admitted terrorists) who are being held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
That blunder was evident in the recent near-total acquittal of Ahmed Ghailani in a civilian court. Ghailani was accused of taking part in 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded many others. But the judge barred the use of key evidence obtained from Ghailani because his attorneys claimed the interrogation of him at “Gitmo” amounted to torture. The evidence could have been used in a military tribunal at Gitmo.
Without the evidence needed for the case, Ghailani was acquitted on all but one of the 285 charges he faced, including 224 counts of murder.
As if that were not bad enough, the administration has even contemplated trying admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court – where once again, vital evidence of guilt could be thrown out.
To head off that possibility, the U.S. House of Representatives has rightly approved a measure that would forbid the transfer of terrorism detainees from Gitmo into the United States – for trial or any other purpose.