White House looks for other cities to hold 9/11 terror trials
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February 5, 2010
Lindsay Huth
After infuriating citizens in New York City and across the country, President Barack Obama has decided to back down from his initial plan to hold the trial of alleged terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in the Big Apple.
“It [holding the trials in New York] would be an inconvenience at the least, and probably that’s too mild a word for people that live in the neighborhood and businesses in the neighborhood,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters. “There are places that would be less expensive for the taxpayers and less disruptive for New York City.”
Though no official decision has been made, Obama finally asked the Justice Department to search out new locations for the trial due to concerns about both security and cost.
“Trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City presents an avoidable danger, very large costs, and undue burdens on the city,” Senator Dianne Feinstein of California wrote in a letter to the President.
The estimated expense for the trial, which could last up to four years, would be around $200 million per year as reported by NY Daily News. The cost for sufficient security, which according to Bloomberg could reach $1 billion, would only add to the strain on the city.
Possible alternative host locations include West Point Military Academy, the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York, and Stewart National Air Guard Base in Newsburgh, New York, some of which Steven Spinola from the Real Estate Board of New York suggested to the White House.
Despite other numerous protests, Obama still plans to hold the trial in a civilian court.
“President Obama is still committed to trying Mohammed and four other terrorist detainees in federal court,” spokesman Bill Burton said Thursday. “He agrees with the attorney general’s opinion that . . . he and others can be litigated successfully and securely in the United States of America, just like others have.”
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