In a corner of Cuba, a group of men are dying of old age. Their beards have grayed. Their eyesight is dimming. They are the men who organized, planned, financed, and facilitated the 9/11 attacks. After a quarter of a century, they have still not faced justice.
Throughout all of the recent 25th anniversary events, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and his colleagues were barely mentioned. That may be because acknowledging their presence should remind us all of the terrible inadequacy of our legal systems in the West to bring our terrorist enemies to justice.
Like many other people, I used to spend considerable amounts of time following the progress of the dozens of al-Qaeda detainees originally held in an American military prison in Guantanamo Bay. The first of them were brought into what was then called Camp X-Ray in 2002. The first images released of the prisoners, shackled and in orange jumpsuits, caused a significant backlash in public opinion as audiences recoiled at their sometimes harsh treatment. But the U.S. could have quickly overcome any unease about these detentions if the terrorists had swiftly faced the full force of American justice. The families of their victims were promised that they would live to see that resolution. But after 25 years and five presidential administrations in Washington, most of the accused are still—unbelievably—in the pretrial phase.
The judges who were overseeing the cases have retired and been replaced. The admirable Mark Martins—brigadier general and original chief prosecutor—put off his retirement multiple times to give the 9/11 families justice. But there were so very many forces beyond his control obstructing his ability to get the job done, and the years took their toll on him, too. He finally retired in 2021 and has been replaced as well.
There are many causes for this lamentable situation. And if America and her allies are going to be fit for the challenges of the 21st century, we must learn lessons from this failure.
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