The First Lady, The President, The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden Serve on 9/11

Posted by: Audiegrl
Written by Kori Schulman

On September 11, 2010, the First Lady, the President, the Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden engaged in service activities to support our veterans, troops and military families, following remarks. Watch a video that takes you to service projects in McLean, VA, Washington, DC and New York City on the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The National Day of Service and Remembrance was developed by 9/11 families and established into law by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which President Obama signed in April 2009. Visit Serve.gov to find volunteer opportunities in your community.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Looking for more stories on the First Lady? Check out our special section: FLOTUS: All Things Michelle Obama

The President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden: A Day of Service and Remembrance

Posted by: Audiegrl
Written by Jesse Lee

President Barack Obama pauses during a moment of silence in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House at 8:46AM, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, in remembrance of the time that the first plane hit the World Trade Center in 2001. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The President was joined by Defense Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon Memorial.  Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden were at Zuccotti Park in New York City.  And the First Lady was with Mrs. Laura Bush at the memorial ceremony in honor of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

All of them took part in service projects afterwards, and Serve.gov is helping Americans across the country take part in this Day of Service and Remembrance.  Excerpts of their remarks below.

President Barack Obama participates in a service project at Ronald H Brown Middle School September 11 2010 in the Washington, DC. Obama attended an 9/11 anniversary memorial at the Pentagon earlier in the day. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images North America)

The President:

Nine years have now passed.  In that time, you have shed more tears than we will ever know.  And though it must seem some days as though the world has moved on to other things, I say to you today that your loved ones endure in the heart of our nation, now and forever.

Our remembrance today also requires a certain reflection.  As a nation, and as individuals, we must ask ourselves how best to honor them — those who died, those who sacrificed.  How do we preserve their legacy — not just on this day, but every day?

We need not look far for our answer.  The perpetrators of this evil act didn’t simply attack America; they attacked the very idea of America itself — all that we stand for and represent in the world.  And so the highest honor we can pay those we lost, indeed our greatest weapon in this ongoing war, is to do what our adversaries fear the most — to stay true to who we are, as Americans; to renew our sense of common purpose; to say that we define the character of our country, and we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are.

They doubted our will, but as Americans we persevere.  Today, in Afghanistan and beyond, we have gone on the offensive and struck major blows against al Qaeda and its allies.  We will do what is necessary to protect our country, and we honor all those who serve to keep us safe.

They may seek to strike fear in us, but they are no match for our resilience.  We do not succumb to fear, nor will we squander the optimism that has always defined us as a people.  On a day when others sought to destroy, we have chosen to build, with a National Day of Service and Remembrance that summons the inherent goodness of the American people.

They may seek to exploit our freedoms, but we will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust.  They may wish to drive us apart, but we will not give in to their hatred and prejudice.  For Scripture teaches us to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

They may seek to spark conflict between different faiths, but as Americans we are not — and never will be — at war with Islam.  It was not a religion that attacked us that September day — it was al Qaeda, a sorry band of men which perverts religion.  And just as we condemn intolerance and extremism abroad, so will we stay true to our traditions here at home as a diverse and tolerant nation.  We champion the rights of every American, including the right to worship as one chooses — as service members and civilians from many faiths do just steps from here, at the very spot where the terrorists struck this building.

Those who attacked us sought to demoralize us, divide us, to deprive us of the very unity, the very ideals, that make America America — those qualities that have made us a beacon of freedom and hope to billions around the world.  Today we declare once more we will never hand them that victory.  As Americans, we will keep alive the virtues and values that make us who we are and who we must always be.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The First Lady:

(L-R) Gordon W.Felt, president of Families of Flight 93 and Joanne Hanley Superintendent of the Flight 93 National Memorial show U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Laura Bush the future site of the memorial that's under construction during a 9/11 Flight 93 commemoration September 11, 2010 in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. People gathered to honor the 40 victims of Flight 93 on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (Photo by Archie Carpenter/Getty Images North America)

The men and women of Flight 93 were college students and grandparents.  They were businessmen, pilots, and flight attendants.  There was a writer, an antique dealer, a lawyer, an engineer.

They came from all different backgrounds and all walks of life, and they all took a different path to that September morning.

But in that awful moment when the facts became clear, and they were called to make an impossible choice, they all found the same resolve.

They agreed to the same bold plan.

They called the people they loved –- many of them giving comfort instead of seeking it, explaining they were taking action, and that everything would be okay.

And then they rose as one, they acted as one, and together, they changed history’s course.

And in the days that followed, when we learned about the heroes of Flight 93 and what they had done, we were proud, we were awed, we were inspired, but I don’t think any of us were really surprised, because it was clear that these 40 individuals were no strangers to service and to sacrifice.  For them, putting others before themselves was nothing new because they were veterans, and coaches, and volunteers of all sorts of causes.

There was the disability rights advocate who carried a miniature copy of the Constitution everywhere she went.

There was the Census director who used to return to the homes she’d canvassed to drop off clothing and food for families in need.

There was the couple who quietly used their wealth to make interest-free loans to struggling families.

And to this day, they remind us -– not just by how they gave their lives, but by how they lived their lives -– that being a hero is not just a matter of fate, it’s a matter of choice.

I think that Jack Grandcolas put it best –- his wife, Lauren, was one of the passengers on the flight — and he said: “They were ordinary citizens thrown into a combat situation.  No one was a general or a dictator.  Their first thought was to be selfless.  They knew ‘There was a 98 percent chance we’re not going to make it, but let’s save others’.”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Vice President Joe Biden (L)) and his wife Jill Biden (R) delivesr remarks during the annual 9/11 memorial service September 11, 2010 in New York City. People gathered at the World Trade Center site to mark the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images North America)

Vice President Biden gave a reading of The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

(L to R) New York Governor David Patterson, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Dr Jill Biden, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are relected in the reflecting pool at Ground Zero during the annual memorial service for September 11, 2010 in New York City. People gathered at the World Trade Center site to mark the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images North America)

Vodpod videos no longer available.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Looking for more stories on the First Lady? Check out our special section: FLOTUS: All Things Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama Joins Mrs. Laura Bush at Flight 93 National Memorial on 9/11

Posted by: Audiegrl

A woman looks at items left at the Flight 93 Temporary Memorial outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, September 10, 2009. (REUTERS/Jason Cohn)

First Lady Michelle Obama will join Mrs. Laura W. Bush as an additional keynote speaker at the September 11, 2010, ceremony being held at the future site of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  They will join other distinguished guests including Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.  The ceremony will honor the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93, along with all of those lost on September 11th.  United Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, after the 40 passengers and crew fought back against terrorists attempting to attack our nation’s capital.  Fundraising is currently underway to complete the memorial which is under construction and set for dedication on September 11, 2011.

“We are deeply honored to welcome First Lady Michelle Obama, Mrs. Laura Bush and all of our guests to this important event,” said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO, National Park Foundation.  ”Their show of support honors the lives and memories of these 40 heroes and everyone we lost on September 11th, and serves as a valuable reminder of how important this memorial is to preserve and share their story.”

The ceremony will be held at the Western Overlook at the future site of Flight 93 National Memorial.  In 2001, the Western Overlook was the location of the investigative command post for Flight 93 and was the point from which the families of the passengers and crew first observed the crash site. It was also where the media reported on the crash and provided the public with the first images from the crash scene. It is the site of the temporary memorial while the Flight 93 National Memorial is under construction.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The Memorial Today
A spontaneous and organic memorial now stands a short distance from the crash site, visited by nearly one million people since 9/11. These visitors have come here to leave personal tributes of their own making, listen to the story of Flight 93 recounted by resident volunteer docents, or simply rest on one of several benches inscribed with the names of the passengers and crewmembers to reflect on what happened there seven years ago.

Although the temporary memorial has served an important and necessary function for Flight 93, this space has been largely inadequate to meet the increasing numbers of visitors, accommodate a growing collection of tributes, facilitate more in-depth educational programming, and enable visitors to have a closer physical proximity to the crash site. With the building of a lasting memorial, we can dramatically improve the overall quality of the visitor experience.

The Memorial Tomorrow
The Flight 93 National Memorial consists of a series of thoughtfully designed features embedded in the landscape that resonate with healing and understanding of the personalities and events that defined Flight 93. More than a dozen distinct elements will organize the visitor experience, beginning with the Sacred Ground where Flight 93 crashed, and radiating across a mile-wide Field of Honor to include panoramic overlooks, a Visitor Center, memorial tree groves, and the sentinel-like Tower of Voices.

Educational Programs
Educational programming at the Memorial will guide visitors toward a deeper appreciation of the brave sacrifice of the 40 Heroes. Guided interpretation, exhibitions, conferences, lectures, films, publications, Junior Ranger programs, environmental activities, Internet site content, and many other initiatives will provide a wide range of learning for audiences of all ages and backgrounds, both at the park and in schools, libraries, and computer stations across the country.

Restoring the Landscape
The Memorial will be the centerpiece of a large and expansive 2,220-acre park, one of the newest in the National Park system. Much of the park was once a surface mine where the search for coal scarred the landscape through the removal of tons of soil and depletion of old-growth forests. A new vision for the park will reclaim this land from its destructive past and renew the area around the memorial through reforestation, pond rehabilitation, and planting of thousands of wildflowers and natural grasses. Through careful planning and management, the park can be its own source of energy and sustainability.

All Americans and freedom-respecting citizens around the world were in some way touched by the events of 9/11. During a day of extraordinary stories, Flight 93 stands out for the simplicity and audacity of its message: stop an unimaginable attack to save innocent lives. Creating a place that not only remembers the 40 Heroes but also inspires ordinary citizens to act in their own heroic ways is what the Flight 93 National Memorial will be about. The Campaign “building, educating, healing” is the means to achieve this important goal.

Design Features
By enhancing the expansive natural landscape and the monumental scale of the site, this beautiful and carefully considered memorial tells the story of the extraordinary acts of the passengers and crew members of Flight 93. The Flight 93 National Memorial design will include the following features…

Tower of Voices
Tall enough to be seen from the highway, the Tower of Voices will mark the entry to and exit from the park. Reaching 93 feet into the sky, within resonating rings of White Pines, the tower will house 40 aluminum wind chimes. The continuous sound of chimes in the wind will be an audible reminder of the selfless acts of courage of the passengers and crewmembers; many of whose last contact on Flight 93 was through their voices on phone calls.

40 Memorial Groves
Creating a living memorial to the 40 Heroes of Flight 93 within the Memorial is the objective of planting the 40 Memorial Groves along the perimeter of one-half of the Field of Honor. Each grove will contain 40 trees, such as sugar or red maples, for a total of 1,600 trees that radiate toward the center of the Field. Concrete radials will subtly differentiate the groves, supplemented by recessed and other forms of lighting.

Field of Honor
Measuring one-half mile in diameter and covering over 150 acres immediately adjacent to the Sacred Ground, the bowl-shaped Field of Honor links the entire memorial through sightlines and pathways. Once a surface coal mine, the Field will be “rehabilitated” through the sustainable planting of native grasses and a mix of indigenous wildflowers. The Field will be framed by groves of maple trees and a walking path and road leading from the Visitor Center to the Sacred Ground.

Entry Portal
An estimated 250,000 visitors each year will enter the Field of Honor through the Entry Portal along the Flight Path walkway. Set along the final trajectory of Flight 93, visitors will immediately be brought back to 10:00 am on September 11, 2001 when Flight 93 careened in this direction toward a stand of hemlock trees. After passing through the twin walls framing the sky, visitors will be standing at an overlook with a sweeping view of the Field of Honor.

Visitor Center
The Visitor Center will be located between the large concrete walls designating the Entry Portal and final flight path of Flight 93. The center will be the educational and interpretive hub of the Memorial. The drama and tragedy of Flight 93 will be chronicled using the latest audio and video technology, primary source materials, photographs, and oral history testimony from those who were there. Exhibits will go far beyond the story itself, creating a forum where visitors, families, and school groups can discuss the legacy of Flight 93 and what it means to be a hero. Major donors to the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign will be recognized in the center.

Western Overlook
A large area just below the Entry Portal overlooks the western edge of the impact site of Flight 93 and provides a key vantage point to view the entire Memorial site. Years ago, the mining operations kept an equipment repair and parts shop at this location, and immediately after the crash of Flight 93, the Federal Bureau of Investigation set up its command post at this location. Foundations and floor slabs will remain to evoke the memory of the structures and location, where family members were first brought to view the crash site.

Wetlands
Among the restorative features intended to heal the landscape of the site, a series of wetlands and ponds adjacent to the Sacred Ground will be preserved as natural features in the design and construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial. One of the “leftovers” from the surface mining activities, the wetlands will be transformed into a self-sustaining natural habitat and aquatic eco-system for local flora and fauna to reside and thrive. In addition to creating environmental interest, the ponds will serve important design functions as a naturally-occurring reservoir for irrigation and for storm water that will flow down from higher elevations.

Sacred Ground
As the final resting place of the passengers and crewmembers, the Sacred Ground is the heart of the Flight 93 National Memorial. A stone and slate plaza will offer a closer-than-ever viewing position of the flower-filled meadow and hemlock grove which absorbed much of the devastating impact of the crash. Small niches along the low, sloped wall of the viewing plaza will accommodate personal tributes and remembrances from visitors. Benches and trees at each end of the plaza will create a quiet setting for peaceful contemplation.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Looking for more stories on the First Lady? Check out our special section: FLOTUS: All Things Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama’s Message for the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance

Posted by: Audiegrl

Earlier today, First Lady Michelle Obama sent this message to the White House email list about the September 11th National Day of Service. Tomorrow the First Lady will be participating in a service event with Mission Serve, a civilian-military service initiative, to help renovate a community center at a retirement community for veterans. Visit Serve.gov to get involved and find service opportunities in your area.

Nine years ago, nearly three thousand Americans lost their lives on September 11, 2001.  Like many Americans, I was shocked and horrified by the attacks on our country.  But I was also inspired by the heroism and selflessness of so many of my fellow Americans in the wake of this tragedy.

From the brave men and women of Flight 93 who sacrificed their own lives to save the lives of others, to the first responders who rushed without hesitation to help those in need, to the young men and women who chose to join our Armed Forces following the attacks – these tragic events united Americans in a remarkable spirit of solidarity and compassion.

It’s that spirit of selflessness and service that inspired the first September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance last year. On this day all Americans can honor the brave men and women who lost and risked their lives by serving others in their community.

Tomorrow, I will be volunteering with Mission Serve, an initiative bringing together civilian and military communities through service and volunteerism.  Working alongside active duty members of the military, wounded warriors, veterans, military spouses and students, I’ll help renovate a community center at a retirement community for veterans in McLean, Virginia.

You can join me in participating in the National Day of Service by finding a service opportunity in your area on Serve.gov:

Whether you help clean up a local park, participate in a food drive, or help out in a local soup kitchen or school, volunteering strengthens our communities and our country. The National Day of Service presents an opportunity to take time to make a difference in your area and make a commitment to serve your community throughout the year.

On the anniversary of this tragic day in our history, I hope you will join me in honoring all those who put the needs of others before their own by serving in your community.

To all Americans mourning the loss of their loved ones on September 11th, the President and I extend our sincerest condolences. Your courage and sacrifice is an inspiration to all Americans.

Sincerely,

Michelle Obama
First Lady of the United States

Looking for more stories on the First Lady? Check out our special section: FLOTUS: All Things Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama Joins Mrs. Laura W. Bush at Flight 93 National Memorial on September 11, 2010

Posted by: Audiegrl

PRNewswire~The National Park Foundation, official charity of America’s national parks, announced today that First Lady Michelle Obama will join Mrs. Laura W. Bush as an additional keynote speaker at the September 11, 2010, ceremony being held at the future site of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  They will join other distinguished guests including Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.  The ceremony will honor the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93, along with all of those lost on September 11th.  United Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, after the 40 passengers and crew fought back against terrorists attempting to attack our nation’s capital.  Fundraising is currently underway to complete the memorial which is under construction and set for dedication on September 11, 2011.

“We are deeply honored to welcome First Lady Michelle Obama, Mrs. Laura Bush and all of our guests to this important event,” said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO, National Park Foundation.  “Their show of support honors the lives and memories of these 40 heroes and everyone we lost on September 11th, and serves as a valuable reminder of how important this memorial is to preserve and share their story.”

The ceremony will be held at the Western Overlook at the future site of Flight 93 National Memorial.  In 2001, the Western Overlook was the location of the investigative command post for Flight 93 and was the point from which the families of the passengers and crew first observed the crash site. It was also where the media reported on the crash and provided the public with the first images from the crash scene.  It is the site of the temporary memorial while the Flight 93 National Memorial is under construction.

More details about the ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks.

Looking for more stories on the First Lady? Check out our special section: FLOTUS: All Things Michelle Obama

BBC Airing Guantánamo Guard/Detainee Reunion

Posted by: Audiegrl

“He would say, ‘you ever listen to Eminem or Dr Dre’ and… I thought how could it be somebody is here who’s doing the same stuff that I do when I’m back home”~~Former Guard Brandon Neely

Brandon Neely, center, was a Guantánamo Bay guard, and Ruhal Ahmed, left, and Shafiq Rasul were prisoners.

Why would a former Guantanamo Bay prison guard track down two of his former captives – two British men – and agree to fly to London to meet them?

BBC News/Gavin Lee~~”You look different without a cap.”

“You look different without the jump suits.”

With those words, an extraordinary reunion gets under way.

The journey of reconciliation began almost a year ago in Huntsville, Texas. Mr Neely, 29, had left the US military in 2005 to become a police officer and was still struggling to come to terms with his time as a guard at Guantanamo.

He felt anger at a number of incidents of abuse he says he witnessed, and guilt over one in particular.

Highly controversial since it opened in 2002, Guantanamo prison was set up by President George Bush in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to house suspected “terrorists“. But it has been heavily divisive and President Barack Obama has said it has “damaged [America’s] national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al Qaeda“.

Mr Neely recalls only the good publicity in the US media.

“The news would always try to make Guantanamo into this great place,” he says, “like ‘they [prisoners] were treated so great’. No it wasn’t. You know here I was basically just putting innocent people in cages.”

The prisoners arriving on planes, in goggles and jump suits, from Afghanistan were termed by then US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as the “worst of the worst“. But after getting to know some of the English-speaking detainees, Mr Neely started to have doubts all of them were fanatical terrorists.

Mr Neely was 22 when he worked at the camp and left after six months to serve in Iraq. But after quitting the military his doubts about Guantanamo began to crystallize. This led to a spontaneous decision last year to reach out to his former prisoners on Facebook.

Released in 2004, after being held for two years, Mr Rasul and Mr Ahmed and another friend from Tipton had been captured in Afghanistan on suspicion of links to the Taliban. The three said they were beaten by US troops although this was disputed by the US government at the time.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "BBC News – Guantanamo guard reunited …", posted with vodpod

But what were the pair doing in Afghanistan in 2001?

They explain that, being in their late teens and early twenties at the time, they had made a naive, spontaneous decision to travel for free with an aid convoy weeks before a friend’s wedding, due to take place in Pakistan.

Mr Ahmed admits they had a secret agenda for entering Afghanistan, but it wasn’t to join al-Qaeda.

“Aid work was like probably 5% of it. Our main reason was just to go and sightsee really and smoke some dope“.

Does their former prison guard believe them? Yes, says Mr Neely, who says he thinks it was a case of “wrong place, wrong time“.

Both sides are beginning to bond, yet towards the end, Mr Neely has a confession of his own. It threatens to destroy the mood of reconciliation.

He is deeply ashamed of an incident in which he “slammed” an elderly prisoner’s head against the floor.

Mr Neely recalls that he thought he had been under attack because the man kept trying to rise to his feet. But weeks later he discovered the prisoner thought he was being placed on his knees to be executed and believed he was fighting for his life.

Mr Ahmed is speechless, then evidently conflicted as he wrestles in his mind with whether or not he can forgive. Eventually, he says he can.

But should Mr Neely be prosecuted for his actions? Mr Ahmed pauses again.

“He’s realized what he did was wrong and he’s living with it and suffering with it and as long as that he knows what he did was wrong. That’s the main thing.”

Afterwards, each say they had genuinely found some sort of closure from meeting. The sense of relief in all their faces speaks volumes, and they leave the meeting closer to one another.

Their story will be featured on the documentary Guantanamo Reunited on BBC Radio 5 live on Thursday 14 January at 2200 BST.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "[Part 1] Newsnight – 12/01/2010 Guant…", posted with vodpod

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "[Part 2] Newsnight – 12/01/2010 Guant…", posted with vodpod

Related Articles

NYT-Guantánamo Reunion, by Way of BBC

The Daily Show w/Jon Stewart: Fright Club

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "Fright Club", posted with vodpod

New Video: Holder on Trying Terror Supects in NY City

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "New Video: Holder on Trying Terror Su…", posted with vodpod

Holder defends decision to try accused 9/11 terrorists in New York

Washington (CNN) — Attorney General Eric Holder defended his decision Wednesday to try five suspected 9/11 terrorists in civilian court.

“We are at war, and we will use every instrument of national power — civilian, military, law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic and others — to win,” he told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We need not cower in the face of this enemy. Our institutions are strong.”

Holder announced last week that the suspected terrorists — including confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — will be tried in civilian court in New York City.

source:

Documentary: The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder – (Trailer)

Posted by Audiegrl

Former prosecutor and NYT best-selling author Vincent Bugliosi

Famed Charles Manson prosecutor and three time #1 New York Times bestselling author Vincent Bugliosi stars in this most powerful, explosive, and thought-provoking documentary.

In The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Bugliosi presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq. Bugliosi sets forth the legal architecture and incontrovertible evidence that President Bush took this nation to war in Iraq under false pretenses—a war that has not only caused the deaths of American soldiers but also over 100,000 innocent Iraqi men, women, and children; cost the United States over one trillion dollars thus far with no end in sight; and alienated many American allies in the Western world.

As a prosecutor who is dedicated to seeking justice, Bugliosi, in his inimitable style, delivers a non-partisan argument, free from party lines and instead based upon hard facts and pure objectivity.

A searing indictment of the President and his administration, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder also outlines a legally credible pathway to holding our highest government officials accountable for their actions, thereby creating a framework for future occupants of the oval office.

Vincent Bugliosi calls for the United States of America to return to the great nation it once was and can be again. He believes the first step to achieving this goal is to bring those responsible for the war in Iraq to justice.

**Scheduled for release in February, 2010

Accused 9/11 mastermind, others to be tried in N.Y.

Obama: 9/11 mastermind faces ‘the most exacting demands of justice’

At left a 2003 photo shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan. At right, a photo allegedly taken in July 2009 by the Red Cross.

WASHINGTON — Khalid Sheik Mohammed — the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks — and four co-defendants will be tried in federal court in New York instead of a military commission, a federal official said Friday morning.

The long-awaited decision, part of President Obama’s quest to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

is expected to be formally announced by the Justice Department later Friday. The federal official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement was not yet official

The closely-held decision has been the subject of intense speculation, and comes on the same day that White House counsel Gregory B. Craig, a key manager of Obama’s Guantanamo Bay policy, is expected to announce his resignation.

Mohammed and the four alleged co-conspirators in the 9/11 plot had been facing capital charges in a military commission at Guantanamo Bay. The administration requested a series of suspensions in those proceedings while officials decided on the best forum for prosecution. But the government assured military judges that they would make a final determination by Nov. 16.

A group of Guantanamo prisoners participate in early morning Islamic prayer in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.

The decision will not affect the vast majority of the 215 detainees who remain at Guantanamo Bay, according to sources briefed on the matter.

Administration officials expect that up to 40 of the detainees will ultimately be tried in either federal court or military commissions. Approximately 90 others have been cleared for repatriation or resettlement in a third country, according to an administration official. And that leaves up to 75 individuals remaining at Guantanamo who could continue to be held under the laws of war because they are deemed too dangerous to release but cannot be prosecuted because of evidentiary issues and limits on the use of classified material.

The announcement Friday will end months of intense internal jockeying among federal prosecutors in New York and Virginia, and between military and federal prosecutors, for the right to prosecute the high-value detainees held at the military prison. Top among them is KSM, as Mohammed is widely known.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

Holder will also announce that a major suspect in the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, will face justice before a military commission, as will a handful of other detainees to be identified at the same announcement, the official said.

It was not immediately clear where commission-bound detainees like al-Nashiri might be sent, but a military brig in South Carolina has been high on the list of considered sites.

Read more here:

Related:
White House counsel poised to give up post
Tenure marked by struggles over closing Guantanamo

Greg Craig

TOKYO — White House Counsel Gregory B. Craig is expected to announce his departure as early as Friday, people familiar with the situation said, ending an embattled tenure in which he struggled to lead the closure of the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Craig will be replaced by Bob Bauer, a prominent Democratic lawyer who is Obama’s personal attorney.

source: