Families of 9/11 Victims Support Federal Courts

As the debate continues around federal courts or military commissions for 9/11 terrorist suspects, it’s worth listening to those who lost family members in the attack. Kristen Breitweiser, who lost her husband on 9/11, writes about talking to her fourth grade daughter about the news that President Obama may soon reverse the decision to try KSM in federal courts. Talat Hamdani lost her son, a NYPD cadet who died trying to evacuate the World Trade Center, writes that such a reversal “would send the message that our principled decisions become expendable when the going gets tough. That is not the legacy I wish for my son.”

Trying 9/11 suspects in federal courts is the surest way to serve justice for Kristen and Talat. They have waited long enough.

Our federal courts are best equipped to handle the case against KSM and the other 9/11 defendants for a multitude of reasons: they have a successful track record, especially compared to the flawed military commission system, they have the necessary tools to protect sensitive information, they would signal to the country and the world American faith in the rule of law and our institutions upholding it. The facts and the experts are behind federal courts.