9/11 justice delayed: America remains in limbo with the undecided fates of Guantanamo
For many families of the victims of 9/11, there remains a wound that festers even a quarter century after the terror attacks.Though Osama bin Laden is dead, many of his co-conspirators remain in limbo at Guantanamo Bay, neither free nor tried.As the years pass, the chance for closure, much less justice, appears ever remote.“We have been robbed of justice for the murder of our loved ones,” said Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband, Ron, died while working on the 94th floor of the collapsed South Tower.
“It’s 25 years later and the high-level detainees will never see any kind of trial.”Although a military judge recently announced a trial finally will be held for top 9/11 conspirators, it won’t take place for another two years.“It’s just more of the same,” Breitweiser said.
“Delays, delays, delays.”Gitmo was meant to be a temporary solution, a prison for al Qaeda and Taliban members captured after the invasion of Afghanistan.But it’s since become a conundrum.How do you try the world’s worst terrorists without it turning into a show trial that leads to more terror?At its height, Guantanamo held 780 suspected terrorists.
Over the decades, most have been let go, either to face a trial or prison in their country of origin, or paroled to a nation willing to take them with the promise of “rehabilitation.”The Bush administration released some 540 detainees; President Obama, 200; Biden, 25; while President Trump, over his two terms, has released just one, transferring him to a prison in Saudi Arabia.Today, the 15 most dangerous remain — including several 9/11 plotters.A few are still considered for parole, expressing innocence or remorse, but critics point out the dangers.According to the latest Office of National Intelligence report on “reengagement” of former Gitmo detainees, 234 of those who were freed resisted rehabilitation and went right back to jihad.Particularly since the Taliban again controls Afghanistan, releasing others seems f...