24 years later, It’s Time For A 9/11 Gitmo Trial

Over two decades have passed since the horrific 9/11 terrorist attacks, yet the suspected orchestrators, detained at Guantánamo Bay, still await trial.

 

War Secretary Pete Hegseth, in an exclusive with Just the News, reiterated his unwavering commitment to securing the death penalty for the al-Qaeda operatives behind the tragedy.

 

On September 11, 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked commercial planes, crashing them into New York City’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field after passengers heroically thwarted the attackers. The toll was staggering: nearly 3,000 lives lost.

 

Hegseth’s Resolve: “Justice Must Be Served”

 

“I’m determined to see Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and every 9/11 conspirator at Guantánamo face the death penalty,” Hegseth told Just the News. “These ruthless terrorists must answer for their crimes in court, and the American people deserve closure for the devastation of September 11, 2001.”

 

The path to a capital trial remains murky, clouded by disputes over the admissibility of confessions obtained after controversial CIA interrogations and the Biden administration’s now-reversed attempt to offer plea deals sparing the defendants execution. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s effort to retract those deals has added further complexity.

 

The case, overseen by Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, the fifth military judge to tackle it, involves Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), Ammar Baluchi, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa Hawsawi. A separate case against Ramzi bin al-Shibh, deemed unfit for trial in 2023, is handled by Col. Thomas P. Hynes. If a trial proceeds, a jury of twelve randomly selected active-duty U.S. military officers will hear it under the Military Commissions Act of 2009, a hybrid of military and civilian judicial processes.

 

CIA Interrogations Cast Long Shadow

 

KSM, labeled the “principal architect” of 9/11 by the 9/11 Commission Report, was a key ally of Osama bin Laden. He and co-defendants Baluchi, bin Attash, Hawsawi, and bin al-Shibh face charges in a separate Guantánamo case. KSM endured extensive waterboarding, reportedly 15 sessions in March 2003 alone, before his transfer to Guantánamo in 2006. These “enhanced interrogation techniques” have sparked fierce debate, with defense teams arguing that subsequent FBI confessions are tainted and inadmissible.

 

The American Civil Liberties Union has condemned Guantánamo as “a stain on our nation,” citing systemic torture and injustice. A 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report, led by Democrats, deemed the CIA’s methods ineffective and brutal, while Republican senators and former CIA directors like George Tenet defended the program, claiming it disrupted al-Qaeda and saved lives. The CIA admitted flaws but maintained its interrogations thwarted further attacks.

 

KSM’s Confessions: From 9/11 to Daniel Pearl

 

In a 2002 Al Jazeera interview, KSM boasted of al-Qaeda’s “Holy Tuesday” attacks, designed to maximize casualties and strike America on its soil. Captured in Pakistan in 2003, he confessed in 2007 to masterminding 9/11 “from A to Z” and admitted to other plots, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 2002 Bali nightclub attack, and assassination schemes targeting figures like Pope John Paul II.

 

Most chillingly, KSM claimed responsibility for the 2002 beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl, a claim supported by FBI and CIA analysis of video evidence.

 

Decades of Delays

 

The 9/11 case has faced repeated setbacks, from Supreme Court rulings under George W. Bush to Barack Obama’s failed push for a civilian trial in New York. The COVID-19 pandemic and Biden-era plea negotiations further stalled progress. A 2019 trial date set for 2021 never materialized.

 

Biden’s pledge to close Guantánamo met resistance from Republicans, who passed measures in the National Defense Authorization Act to block detainee transfers.

 

Despite construction at Guantánamo’s “Camp Justice” in 2021, the facility’s future remains uncertain.

 

Plea Deals and Public Outrage

 

Last summer, a plea deal offered by Convening Authority Susan Escallier would have spared KSM, bin Attash, and Hawsawi the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas. The deal, which included a process for victims’ families to submit questions to the defendants, drew mixed reactions. Some families, weary after years of delays, expressed resignation, with one telling The New York Times, “We said ‘Never forget,’ but we forgot.”

 

When Austin moved to cancel the plea deals in August 2024, a military judge ruled he lacked authority to do so. The Trump administration’s Pentagon, via the Justice Department, successfully appealed, with the D.C. Circuit Court vacating the judge’s order in July 2025. The defendants may now appeal to the Supreme Court, threatening further delays.

 

Guantánamo’s Dwindling Population

 

Of the roughly 780 detainees once held at Guantánamo, only about 15 remain, including the 9/11 plotters. Notable releases, like the 2014 swap of five Taliban leaders for deserter Bowe Bergdahl, have stirred controversy, especially as those leaders assumed roles in Afghanistan’s Taliban government post-2021.

 

Hegseth remains steadfast, vowing not only justice for 9/11 victims but also a Pentagon investigation into the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. “We owe the truth to the American people and the warriors who fought,” he said.

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