Terrorist Trials and 9/11 Health Care

Saturday there will be a rally in New York City to voice the concerns of many individuals who feel that the trials of the 9/11 terrorists belong in a military tribunal and not in Federal court in NY.

We support this effort for many good reasons (see below) but are very concerned that once again 9/11 is being used as a tool to support political agendas.

We are also concerned that political groups are making statements as if they speak for all the 9/11 families.

The fact of the matter is that there is not one 9/11 opinion.

If 9/11 showed us anything it was that this vicious attack did not discriminate and people of all faiths, nationalities and ways of life were killed.

The great thing about America is that we are allowed to voice our opinion.

We have a government that allows us this right, along with the many other rights which were were also attacked on 9/11.

We must never forget this.

While we may feel that our opinion is correct we must not assume that it is the only opinion that warrants consideration.

While I applaud the effort to try to get the government to change its position on this matter I do not want to see this as a way to use 9/11 to promote political agendas as has happened in the past.

Arguments should be presented and evaluated on their merits and not on what side of the political fence we may find ourselves.

That being said (and this is just my opinion)

I believe that these terrorists are war criminals and should be treated as such.

They were arrested by the military and should be tried by the military.

I am very concerned that legal maneuvers will be deployed in criminal court by the defense that the accused were not properly advised of their Miranda rights required in criminal court and that this ploy may be used to get the charges dismissed.

I am also concerned that through discovery the defense may demand that all documents relating to 9/11 be made public and that this could detrimental to national security.

As for the location of the trial I do not feel that it should take place in New York City.

Although the city was the most directly impacted in the country we cannot afford what it will take to secure downtown Manhattan.

This trial may last for years and cost and security issues do not warrant it taking place in New York.

We also do not need to give these terrorists a platform to promote their Anti American doctrines blocks away from where they killed nearly 3,000 people.

A more logical location would be Shanksville Pennsylvania.

We should construct a courthouse in the area where United Airlines flight 93 crashed, away from any major city.

This area would be easily secured at a fraction of the cost of a trial in NYC and when the trial completes the building could be used as a museum/memorial to those who died there on 9/11.

This location would work for either a military or criminal venue.

Again this is just my opinion.

On a topic that is just as important, I am concerned that while everyone is concentrating on this issue we are losing site of the fact that people continue to die as a result of 9/11 as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act continues to be ignored in committee.

Even though this bill had enough votes to pass it has been placed in committee and will not even be considered until the current Health Care Bill is sorted out.

People continue to die as a result of illnesses they contracted because of 9/11 and the government refuses to move this bill forward because of the political football that National Health Care has become.

The first question I would ask of any elected official that might show up on Saturday is what are they doing to get this bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.

If they can afford to spend hundreds of millions in pork to buy Congressional votes on National Health Care they can certainly do something for those with 9/11 related illnesses.

This bill would provide medical care to many of those who are now sick because the EPA, an agency of the government, told them that there were no concerns as to the quality of the air after 9/11 even though they knew that what they were reporting was inaccurate.

So on Saturday I hope that those who are sick and those who continue to die as a result of 9/11 are not forgotten.

And I hope that we are able to convince the current Commander in Chief that these terrorists need to be tried in military tribunals.


Dennis McKeon