US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has nullified a pre-trial concord reached with the individuals accused of orchestrating the September 11 terrorist attacks the 911 pre-trial accord. In a memorandum issued on Friday, Mr. Austin also annulled the authority of the officer presiding over the military tribunal who had sanctioned the agreement earlier in the week.
The initial pact, which purportedly would have exempted the suspected plotters from capital punishment, faced denunciation from some bereaved families of the victims. The memo delineated five defendants, including the supposed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, all detained at Guantánamo Bay. The original arrangement mentioned only three men.
“I have ascertained that, given the gravity of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused… responsibility for such a determination should reside with me as the paramount authority,” Mr. Austin conveyed to Brig Gen Susan Escallier. “I hereby rescind your jurisdiction. Effective forthwith, I withdraw from the three pre-trial accords.”
The White House declared on Wednesday that it had no involvement in the plea bargain. The memorandum identified the five men as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, commonly referred to as KSM, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, along with two others not initially mentioned: Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali.
These men have languished in custody for decades without trial, all claiming they endured torture—KSM was subjected to simulated drowning, infamously known as “waterboarding,” 183 times before its prohibition by the US government. They have already undergone more than a decade of pre-trial hearings, complicated by allegations and evidence of torture.
Several relatives of the victims had condemned the plea deal terms as overly lenient. Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, which advocates for survivors and victims’ families, expressed to the BBC earlier this week that the families were “deeply disquieted by these plea deals.”
Terry Strada, who lost her husband Tom, relayed to the BBC’s Today Programme: “It was a gut-wrenching blow to hear of a plea deal today that granted the Guantanamo detainees their desires.”
A legal representative at Guantanamo for Mr. Mohammed, speaking to The New York Times, conveyed his astonishment at the abrupt reversal. “If the defense secretary issued such an edict, I am respectfully and profoundly disillusioned that after all these years, the government has not assimilated the lessons of this case,” said Gary Sowards, an attorney. “And the chaos that ensues from neglecting due process and equitable treatment.”
Accusations leveled against the individuals include hijacking, terrorism, killing in violation of the laws of war, and attacks on innocent targets. Mohammed was one of the five prisoners being held at the US Navy station in Cuba when the Biden administration allegedly rejected their plea agreement in September. The detainees had reportedly sought assurances from the president that they would avoid solitary confinement and have access to trauma treatment.
KSM is alleged to have presented the concept of hijacking planes and crashing them into edifices to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Captured in Pakistan in 2003, along with Hawsawi, a Saudi alleged to have been a financier, KSM’s plans were devastatingly effective. Ali, a computer scientist and KSM’s nephew, is accused of providing technical support for the 9/11 operation. Bin al-Shibh, a Yemeni, purportedly coordinated the attacks and had intended to be a hijacker but failed to obtain a US visa. Bin Attash, also Yemeni, stands accused of bombing the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000, resulting in the deaths of 17 sailors, and involvement in the September 11 attacks.
Several Republicans commended the defense secretary for rescinding the deal. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson stated that the “Biden-Harris Administration is correct to reverse course,” attributing the change to Republican-led investigations into the “terrible plea deal.” “Now deliver long-awaited justice for 9/11 families,” he urged.
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina remarked that the decision “exercised good command judgment.” “The prior plea deal would have sent an entirely wrong message to terrorists worldwide,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, Republican Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mike Rogers demanded explanations from Mr. Austin regarding how the deal was formulated. “This deal signals a willingness to negotiate with terrorists who intentionally harm Americans,” he wrote in a letter to the defense secretary.
The 9/11 attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania ignited the “War on Terror” and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. They marked the deadliest assault on US soil since the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which claimed 2,400 lives.
For more latest news checkout our website: latestglobalinsight