by Robert Spencer
What’s going on?
[Order a copy of Robert Spencer’s forthcoming book, Muhammad: A Critical Biography, by clicking here.]
The news of the Biden regime’s latest stunning betrayal of the American people broke on Wednesday: the mastermind of the 9/11 jihad attacks that murdered nearly three thousand people and sent America into the spiral of decline and confusion that has brought us to the present situation, along with two of his henchmen, was given a sweetheart plea deal that would spare them the death penalty. The news of this latest stab in the back had barely reached a dismayed nation when on Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin canceled the whole thing. This on-again, off-again comic opera was unusual for the Biden regime, or Harris regime, or whatever this is now, as it has generally been consistent in its application of America-Last policies. So what’s going on?
The New York Post reported Wednesday that “a spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), which is prosecuting the case, confirmed it had entered into pre-trial agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the accused principal architect of the al Qaeda attacks — and two alleged co-conspirators, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.” Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, chief prosecutor for the OMC, announced that “in exchange for removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet.”
Wait a minute. Shouldn’t these jihadis have wanted the death penalty? After all, the Qur’an promises a place in paradise to those who “kill and are killed” for Allah (9:111). Once there, they get to enjoy carnal delights with the famed seventy-two virgins for all eternity. That is why, as so many jihadis have reminded us over the years, they love death more than we love life. So why these men, who in 2009 published a lengthy Islamic defense for their 9/11 plotting, would want to escape the death penalty.
Nonetheless, they did, and so, as the New York Times reported, “the senior Defense Department official responsible for military commissions,” retired Brig. Gen. Susan K. Escallier, “signed a pretrial agreement on Wednesday with Mr. Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi that exchanged guilty pleas for sentences of at most life in prison.” Yet on Friday, Austin peremptorily relieved Escallier of her oversight of the case against the 9/11 plotters, and canceled the whole deal, writing to her: “Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024.”
The Times noted that “Mr. Austin’s decision brought relief to family members of victims who had expressed anger over the deal.” That’s great, but was Austin overcome by a sudden feeling of compassion for these people? Or did he experience a sudden burst of patriotism that made him outraged over the deal?
Both are unlikely. The deal to remove the death penalty from the 9/11 plotters has been in the works for a long time. The New York Times reported back in March 2022 that “prosecutors have opened talks with lawyers for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and his four co-defendants to negotiate a potential plea agreement that would drop the possibility of execution, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.” Austin must have known that it was in the works, and yet never made a move to stop these discussions until over two years later, when the deal was finally announced.
Austin likely withdrew the deal not because it blindsided him and he was overcome with righteous indignation, but because the reaction to it was so uniformly negative. On Thursday, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote to Austin saying that the deal was “unconscionable,” and declaring: “I, along with much of our nation and Congress, are deeply shocked and angered by news that the terrorist mastermind and his associates who planned the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3000 innocent people, were offered a plea deal.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), meanwhile, wrote to Biden excoriating him for the White House Security Council’s claim that Old Joe “played no role in the negotiations.” Comer wrote: “That White House officials and you, as President and Commander in Chief, would seek to distance your Administration from this decision is understandable given how absurd it is, but it is far from believable or appropriate. You are allowing these terrorists to avoid the death penalty, signaling to our enemies that the United States is reluctant to pursue full justice against those who attack our nation.”
Austin saw the writing on the wall. He and his fellow regime apparatchiks are trying to get Kamala Harris elected president. Why give Bad Orange Man yet another indication of how treasonous this regime really is? So he took a campaign issue off the table. He could even be angling for the vice-presidential spot, except that the woman at the top is already black, sort of, and so that DEI box is already checked. But Austin has done the regime a valuable service, and will get his reward.
Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is author of 28 books, including many bestsellers, such as The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), The Truth About Muhammad, The History of Jihad, and The Critical Qur’an. His latest book is Muhammad: A Critical Biography. Follow him on Twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.
Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/9-11-jihadis-get-plea-deal-9-11-jihadis-dont-get-plea-deal/
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