For those who have been living under a rock the last few years:
On May 31, 2011, [these] five individuals were charged jointly, in connection with their alleged roles in the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States. They are charged with committing the following eight offenses: conspiracy; attacking civilians; attacking civilian objects; intentionally causing serious bodily injury; murder in violation of the law of war; destruction of property in violation of the law of war; hijacking or hazarding a vessel or aircraft; and terrorism.
Last the public saw this crew was back in June. At that time, This Ain't Hell live blogged the proceedings from Ft Meade. To read the shenaningans the co-accused were pulling on that day is to marvel at the patience of the presiding Judge, U.S. Army Col. James L. Pohl.
Since we last saw inside the big tent of what the msm chooses to show as a circus, the Obama administration has tried to meddle in what IS a Military matter and, thus far, been thwarted in their efforts, despite releasing dozens of GITMO residents, who return to the killing of our Troops. Closing GITMO was one of the MIC's original campaign promises and, if nothing else, he and his team certainly deserve 'A' for effort in that goal..
Despite train crashes, the threat of hurricanes, and even a recent delay so that the accused can observe Ramadan, (really!) the wheels of justice appear to be back on track today. It seems that even the whining about rats (4-legged as opposed to 2-legged!) will no longer delay the proceedings set to resume today.
Diane and Ken Fairben, parents of Keith - over in my sidebar at Assoluta Tranquillita - a Paramedic who died on 9/11, will be watching the CCTV broadcast today at Ft Hamilton. Given all the delays and the shenanigans that keep derailing this holding to account of those responsible for the worst attack on US soil, some may think that this Military Tribunal setting is not a productive or appropriate venue for the meting out of justice. I asked Diane and Ken for their thoughts on this.
Ken says:
I have complete faith in the Military Tribunal. After seeing it in person in GitMo, and how Judge Pohl is conducting the hearings so far, I am certain that at some point we will finally come to a conclusion with these five murderers. The defense teams are doing their absolute best to represent them, and the govt lawyers are fully prepared to go forward...
As far as why I feel that I must be there, I have to be...I have to see that those responsible for the murder of Keith are brought to justice and punished...I truly hope that either Diane or I will be allowed the opportunity to testify in GitMo when it comes time...We were told the last time that we were there that we would be one of the families selected when it came time...I hope that we will be able to.
Diane and I will be at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn to watch the proceedings and just as we were there for the Mousai trial (7 weeks) we will be there each opportunity that we are given...It is surely going to be a very lengthly trial...but it is something that we feel we must do... The public is basing their opinions on what the press is reporting...I am telling the public, sitting and watching the proceedings, Yes, the five are doing everything possible to disrupt the proceedings ie: taking off their head phones so that they cannot listen to the translators. Now they have the person sitting next to them and as the judge and lawyers discuss items, you hear the translator speaking out loud at the same time.. difficult to follow the proceedings. I am hoping that the Judge takes steps to eliminate this. Two of them got up during the hearing and began to pray....I don't think that the Judge is going to allow that to happen again...He has already stated that if the defendants do not show up in court, the Judge is going to proceed without them....I believe that the Judge will control this courtroom.
Yes, there is frustration among the family members by the antics that these five have shown. The female dressed in the garb that Muslim women are suppose to wear is nothing more then a distraction....at one point she insisted that the defendants were offended by the dress of the prosecuting female lawyers. She wanted them to come to court in Muslim attire. Things like this have been going on... all the five wanted to do was complain about the conditions in the detention area.
So as you can see, it will be a long drawn out trial...but I will say this once again...These five have been and continue to receive EVERY consideration in their defense and their team...more so than I would guess any regular defendant would receive in our court system...Everyone is going the extra mile to insure that these five can NEVER SAY THAT THEY DID NOT RECEIVE A FAIR TRIAL!!
(The woman lawyer Ken refers to? Take a look: Cheryl Bormann.)
Diane, Keith's mom, shared her thoughts on the credbility of a Military Tribunal -v- the civilian trials that MIC and Holder have been seen promoting:
This Military trial is very credible. The majority of the legal procedure is the same as in a civilian court. What the government and people forget is that this was an act of war, AlQueda said as much, calling it a Jihad.
That and the fact the Pentagon was hit, and the flight in Pa was headed for DCThe WTC was and is a global center for finance and the heart of one of the most significant symbols of America.People have yet to accept that "war" does not fit the WWII kind anymore.Ken and I have to go witness these Military Tribunals. This is the only thing we can do for Keith. Be his voice, and give a face to the victims. People have forgotten that each person who was killed that day has a story, a face, a family etc, whose lives will never be the same. For us, we want accountability, and punishment, and a message sent to the world, that this will not go away. The US will NOT let any group or country attack us without facing the ultimate consequences. This president has not sent this message at all....Some of the rules or priviledges accorded the accused are different from a civilian court. When the Judge(Pohl) was allowing the defense to ask him all those things, he wasn't letting them run away with the proceedings. It is allowed. The defense is trying to seek evidence that the judge may not be impartial...it's called (I think) a voir dire...like what they do to prospective jurors.
This is not, and was not a circus. Judge Pohl had total control, and gave the defense a lot of leeway.... but, he also did not tolerate the attempts of the lawyers to take the proceedings in another direction. He has a "process", as he calls it, that the hearing is to follow. This was an ARRAIGNMENT: the accused must state who his counsel will be, that they understand the charges, and that they enter a plea. Remember these morons would not listen, or reply to the specific questions from the judge. A default plea was entered( this happens in civilian court too) of not guilty, when the accused refuses to enter one.
And of course their antics disrupted the court ever time they acted out.The media has access to the truth of these proceedings as do we, and they need to report in depth not just painting it as a circus and a joke. The families don't think it's a joke..
As both Ken and Diane (and This Ain't Hell) show, what the msm chooses to report - and how they choose to portray what is going on - is very selective.
Ultimately, no matter how the msm does report, it IS important that the families of those we lost on 9/11 - all of them - see those who committed this act of war, these murders, held accountable.
It is vital that a message is sent out to terrorists everywhere that if you attack America, you WILL pay. Period.
Justice must be seen to be done. No other outcome is acceptable.