Terrorists in New York threaten national security

President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder both announced on Friday that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and four other terrorists now detained in Guantanamo Bay will be moved to a prison facility near the Brooklyn Bridge. They will be put on trial in a civilian federal courtroom down the street from the World Trade Center buildings.  Khalid Sheikh Mohammad is a self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and the other terrorists are his accomplices.
Holder opted to seek justice against these terrorists in a federal court instead of in a war tribunal because the attack targeted civilians on U.S. soil. Holder also said that he is likely to seek the death penalty against these terrorists. In theory this all seems to be perfect, but in the real world this could be a risky situation. This decision came under fierce criticism from families who lost loved ones during 9/11, Republicans and some moderates. Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani called this a “dangerous” and an “irresponsible” decision made by the Obama administration with good reason. Giuliani believes that this is an “unnecessary” decision as New York City is already a prime target for terrorist strikes and the decisions of putting terrorists on trial increases the risk of another potential terrorist attack.
This was an act of war and not a criminal violation. Federal courts are designed to prosecute criminal acts and not acts of war. Military tribunals are for prosecuting war crimes..
In a federal court, evidence would not be presented in a controlled environment which would enable the media to sensationalize the trial, which might give the public the ability to influence the reasoning of judges, lawyers and the jury—as the media would most likely conduct polls on this trial. Terrorists would be able to view what charges they are being tried for, would have the ability to plead guilty or not guilty, and will have the right to an attorney. If the terrorists are to win the case, Holder will not be able to bring another trial against them because the same crime charges cannot be charged twice. These terrorists would basically receive the same legal rights as U.S. citizens. This trial would be too fair for terrorists who murdered thousands of innocent people on 9/11.  The terrorists who participated in the 11th attacks are war criminals, not common criminals. They are not entitled to all the constitutional rights American citizens have in our federal courts.
The U.S. federal judges might not allow evidence to be presented because of the methods through which it was obtained—one example is water-boarding. There is a strong possibility of this occurring as Mohammad was water-boarded 183 times before water-boarding was banned. Water-boarding is not a humane way of obtaining information, but U.S. intelligence organizations and President Bush were able to prevent numerous terrorist attacks on our soil with the information received from these techniques.
The Civil Liberties Union reported this announcement as an important step in restoring due process, but they have forgotten that terrorists are not U.S. citizens. They do not have the same rights that we—U.S. citizens—enjoy.
Holder plans to seek the death penalty against the criminals. Although it is the best form of punishment for this act of war, whether or not they will actually receive it is debatable. The trial is taking place in New York City, the place where the 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef was tried and only received life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Obama administration is in a dangerous pre-9/11 way of thinking.

Tom Baniszewski is a junior Political Science major.