Military Judge Hears Arguments On USS Cole Defendant's Motions

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

FORT MEADE, Md., April 11, 2012 - A military judge ruled today that a defendant in the USS Cole bombing may meet with his defense attorneys unfettered.

Army Col. James L. Pohl deferred several other defense motions in the case of Abd al-Rahim Hussein Mohammed Abdu al-Nashiri at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Today's ruling made moot testimony from Nashiri on the effects he felt from his imprisonment prior to arriving at the detention facility in Cuba. That testimony could have contained classified information.

Lawyers also argued on constitutional motions, with the defense arguing that neither terrorism nor conspiracy is a crime under accepted international law. They said Nashiri – who is alleged to have masterminded the plot that killed 17 sailors aboard the USS Cole during an act of terror in Aden, Yemen, in 2000 – cannot be charged with those crimes because they don't exist.

Pohl indicated he would rule on these motions later. More arguments on other motions will take place tomorrow.

Nashiri is charged with perfidy, murder in violation of the law of war, attempted murder in violation of the law of war, terrorism, conspiracy, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects and hazarding a vessel.

This is a capital case.

The charges arise out of an attempted attack on the USS The Sullivans in January 2000, the actual attack on the USS Cole in October 2000, and an attack on the motor vessel Limburg in October 2002.

Nashiri is a Saudi-born member of al-Qaida. U.S. officials allege he was under the personal supervision of Osama bin Laden, and that bin Laden personally approved the attacks on the U.S. Navy ships.

New York lawyer David Schultz also spoke to the court today, arguing that the peoples' right to know trumped security concerns in this trial. Schultz, who represented 10 media organizations including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Fox News, NPR and the Miami Herald, based his argument on the 1st Amendment to the Constitution.

He noted that lead prosecutor Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins has been explaining to audiences around the United States how the reformed military commissions system is the best way to advance the rule of law in these cases. Under U.S. law, public attendance of criminal prosecutions is imperative to fairness, he said.

He reached back to the trial of the Lincoln assassination conspirators in 1865 and the Nuremberg trials after World War II to show that military commissions also honored this idea.

He admitted the government had a right to not reveal classified data during a trial, but argued that there are ways to ensure openness while still protecting the information.

Schultz' testimony was the first time outside lawyers have argued in front of the panel at Guantanamo.

Pohl did not disagree with Schultz. He maintained that the default setting in his court is a public hearing. He said proceedings should be closed only when the least restrictive measures cannot be imposed.

9/11 Victims Want Justice: Finally A Trial For Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the 9/11 Mastermind

Carl Campanile at the New York Post reports that finally there will be a trial for the 9/11 mastermind. 

It’s about time!

Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four co-defendants accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will finally be prosecuted under new military charges filed yesterday.

The five defendants will be tried by a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay following years of legal and political controversy, the Defense Department announced.

“We’ve been waiting 11 years. We want justice!” said FDNY retiree James Riches, whose firefighter son, Jimmy, died responding to the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.

“These terrorists killed 3,000 people — including my son. Now the case will proceed. I’m hoping they get the death penalty.”

You Can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/final_khalid_trial_J6ZpKYNhrUZg8E4TGdomQN

The Hunt For KSM: Inside The Pursuit And Takedown Of The Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Josua Sinai at the Washington Times offers a good review of Terry McDermott and Josh Meyer's The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

"The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed” by veteran investigative reporters Terry McDermott and Josh Meyer, is a gripping account of how KSM, one of al Qaeda’s most prominent terrorist “entrepreneurs,” played such a crucial role in one of the deadliest terrorist operations in history. It is also a dramatic account of how the decade-long persistence and hard work of FBI and CIA investigators eventually succeeded in tracking and bringing KSM and his associates to justice, although, as described in great detail by the authors, it took a painstakingly long time in their global pursuit to finally identify him, pinpoint his location and roll up much of his network.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/30/book-review-the-hunt-for-ksm/

Link Grows Between Terrorism, Organized Crime, Assistant Secretary Of Defense Says

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

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WASHINGTON, March 28, 2012 - The two missions of fighting terrorism and combating global organized crime are increasingly linked, senior Defense Department officials told Congress yesterday.

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Michael A. Sheehan (seen in the above DoD offical photo), assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict; Garry Reid, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism; and William F. Wechsler, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics and global threats, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee's emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee.

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The hearing focused on the Pentagon's role in implementing the national strategies for counterterrorism and combating transnational organized crime under the 2013 defense budget request.

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"Terrorism, drug trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime are increasingly intertwined," Sheehan noted, adding that his office -- which is responsible for overall supervision of special operations forces -- is uniquely positioned to provide policy guidance and program oversight to the department's efforts in both missions.

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Wechsler noted four trends in terrorism and transnational crime:

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-- Terrorist groups are adopting criminal techniques, including drug trafficking, to raise funds;
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-- Criminal organizations are adopting terrorist techniques, such as beheadings;
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-- Terrorist organizations and criminal organizations that have been separate are now "working together in ways that previously we hadn't seen ... [such as] the attempted assassination of a Saudi ambassador here in the United States"; and

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-- Some countries are using criminal activity to produce revenue.

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Sheehan said that while the Defense Department plays a central role in fighting terrorism and a more supporting role battling transnational organized crime, the national strategies governing the two missions are complementary and mutually reinforcing.

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While the counterterrorism focus on al-Qaida remains, he said, the landscape is changing. As al-Qaida and other terror groups meld with international criminal networks, DOD is expanding its efforts beyond direct strikes against terrorist targets in supporting an interagency approach, Sheehan said.

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"All our national security challenges ... [are] becoming increasingly interagency," he noted.

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Fighting terrorism increasingly includes targeting the global drug trade, he said. "Nowhere is the link between transnational organized crime, insurgency and terrorism more apparent than in Afghanistan, where the Taliban continues to receive a large percentage of its revenue through heroin trade," he added.

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Fighting insurgents, prosecuting criminals and applying pressure to states profiting from terror or criminal activity involves agencies from DOD to the Drug Enforcement Agency to the State Department, Sheehan noted. And while direct strike is an important special operations capability, even purely military action often focuses on a partnering approach, he said.

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"Just as important ... are the special operations forces' efforts that build the capability and capacity of our partners to shape the global information and ideas environment, as well as train and equip the capacity of other countries," he added.

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Working with Pakistan to keep pressure on al-Qaida is essential, and Yemen serves as an important front against al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, he noted.

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"DOD continues to collaborate extensively with the Yemeni forces on operational matters, and together we are closely monitoring [al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula] and regularly improving our understanding of its external plots," Sheehan said.

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Combating the nexus of terrorism and transnational organized crime, he said, "is a call to action to leverage all of the elements of national power to protect citizens and U.S. national security interests and to enable our foreign partners to do the same."