"the first step in the Democrats' plan to import terrorists into America" - First Gitmo inmate in US court pleads not guilty
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By TOM HAYS and DEVLIN BARRETT,
Associated Press Writers Tom Hays And Devlin Barrett, Associated Press
Writers
NEW YORK - Under heavy guard, a Guantanamo Bay detainee walked into a
civilian U.S. courtroom for the first time Tuesday, underscoring the Obama
administration's determination to close the Cuban prison and hold trials
here despite Republican alarms about bringing terror suspects to America.
Ahmed Ghailani, a Tanzanian accused in two American Embassy bombings a
decade ago, pleaded not guilty - in English - in a brief but historic
federal court hearing that transported him from open-ended military
detention to the civilian criminal justice system.
President Barack Obama has said keeping Ghailani from coming to the United
States "would prevent his trial and conviction." Taking a drastically
different stance, House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio labeled
Tuesday's move "the first step in the Democrats' plan to import terrorists
into America."
Ghailani, accused of being a bomb-maker, document forger and aide to Osama
bin Laden, was brought to New York to await trial in connection with
al-Qaida bombings that killed 224 people - including 12 Americans - at the
U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998.
U.S. marshals took custody of Ghailani from his military jailers and
transferred him to a federal lockup in lower Manhattan that currently holds
financial swindler Bernard Madoff, and once held mob scion John "Junior"
Gotti and blind terror leader Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman.
Short and slim with a wispy goatee, Ghailani walked into the courtroom
without shackles or handcuffs, wearing a blue jail smock.
He listened at times through an interpreter but then removed the headphones
and appeared to understand what was said in English.
Asked by the judge if he wanted her to "read this big fat indictment," he
conferred with his lawyer, said it was not necessary and made his plea: "not
guilty."
About 10 deputy marshals were in the courtroom, including two who were
behind him.
Ghailani's attorney, Scott L. Fenstermaker, declined comment after the
hearing.
"We are ready to proceed in the case," declared Assistant U.S. Attorney
David Raskin, who said there was "voluminous" evidence to be shared among
attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska acknowledged Ghailani's U.S. military
lawyers, Marine Col. Jeffrey Colwell and Air Force Maj. Richard Reiter, who
were seated in the courtroom but were not representing him at the hearing.
"Anything you can do to help him transition to the civilian courts will be
greatly appreciated," she said.
Ghailani's trial will be an important test case for Obama's plan to close
the detention center at Guantanamo in seven months and bring some of the
terror suspects there to trial.
Attorney General Eric Holder said, "The Justice Department has a long
history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects
through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to
bear in seeking justice in this case."
Though the bombings were a decade ago, "for us, it's like yesterday," said
Sue Bartley, a Washington-area resident who lost her husband, Julian Leotis
Bartley Sr., then U.S. consul general to Kenya, and her son, Julian "Jay"
Bartley Jr.
"The embassy bombings were a precursor to 9/11. And even though we know that
an American embassy located in any country is American soil, I don't think
people really understand that," she said.
The U.S. response to the 2001 terror attacks - including the opening of the
Guantanamo detention center - could also complicate Ghailani's case, as
defense lawyers are likely to mount legal challenges based on the
circumstances of his capture, detention and treatment over the years.
Justice Department officials would not say Tuesday what would be done with
Ghailani if he were acquitted, but in past cases a non-citizen defendant
would be turned over to immigration authorities for deportation.
There will also be political challenges to Ghailani's trial.
Congressional Republicans have repeatedly contended that transferring
terrorist suspects to U.S. soil will threaten public safety. The Guantanamo
issue has seemed one of the few issues falling the Republicans' way, as
polls suggest that most Americans want to keep the Cuba-based prison
operating.
But if Ghailani can be handled without serious incident in New York and
elsewhere, the GOP argument may lose steam and Congress may rethink its
refusal to fund the closing of Guantanamo. The move also could bolster
Obama's efforts to persuade other nations to accept some detainees from the
prison.
U.S. officials contend Ghailani began a terrorist career on a bicycle
delivering bomb parts and rose through the al-Qaida ranks to become an aide
to bin Laden.
After the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings at U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania, Ghailani worked his way up the al-Qaida ranks, according
to military prosecutors.
He was categorized as a high-value detainee by U.S. authorities after he was
captured in Pakistan in 2004, and he was transferred to the detention center
at the U.S. naval base in Cuba two years later.
Ghailani has denied knowing that the TNT and oxygen tanks he delivered would
be used to make a bomb. He also has denied buying a vehicle used in one of
the attacks, saying he could not drive.
Not only Republican lawmakers have opposed bringing Guantanamo detainees to
the U.S. for trial, even in heavily guarded settings. Obama faces pressure
from across the political spectrum over his plan to close the detention
center. Democrats have said they want to see Obama's plan for closing the
base before approving money to finance it, and Republicans are fighting to
keep Guantanamo open.
The decision to try Ghailani in New York also revives a long-dormant case
charging bin Laden and other top al-Qaida leadership with plotting the
embassy attacks, which led then-President Bill Clinton to launch cruise
missile attacks two weeks later on bin Laden's Afghan camps.
Four other men have been tried and convicted in the New York courthouse for
their roles in the embassy attacks. All were sentenced to life in prison.
___
Devlin Barrett reported from Washington. Associated Press Writers Charles
Babington in Washington and Larry Neumeister and Verena Dobnik in New York
contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_guantanamo_detainee
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"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war;
liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare
indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Mr.
Rove, the senior political adviser to President Bush, said at a fund-raiser
in Midtown for the Conservative Party of New York State.