President Obama has put into motion what may turn out to be one of the greatest tests ever of the U.S. justice system.

Plenty of criticism has been heaped upon Obama by his critics for his decision to haul the accused mastermind of the deadly Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon into federal court for a trial.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four men accused of being his henchmen in the plot that killed more than 3,000 innocent people will be tried in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan — blocks from the destroyed Twin Towers. The five had been held at Guantanimo Bay, where Mohammed, who had been held there since 2006, claims he was waterboarded five times (not 183, as some reports have claimed). A CIA official also told ABC News that Mohammed was waterboarded once, and then only had to be shown the device afterwards before he would talk.

According to The Associated Press, Mohammed said in military proceedings at Gitmo that he wanted to plead guilty and be executed to achieve martyrdom. In a letter from him released by the war crimes court, he referred to the attacks as a “noble victory” and urged U.S. authorities to “pass your sentence on me and give me no respite.”
In making the announcement Friday that the case would be handled in federal court, Attorney General Eric Holder said he intended to seek the death penalty against the five defendants.

Holder said the decision was based on a number of reasons: He feels the admissible evidence is ample to obtain convictions and death sentences; he feels the nature of evidence against the defendants is conducive to federal court; the majority of the victims were civilians, and the attacks occurred on U.S. soil.

The decision to go with a federal court trial instead of a military commission, as might be expected, prompted the expression of a number of opinions on whether it is a good idea. Certainly it is a political gamble for the president, who will be seen as failing in this case if it results in anything other than a clean sweep of convictions and the imposition of the death penalty.

In listening to the misgivings of Obama’s critics, the prevailing fear seems to be that the defendants will squirm away from a toxic needle by playing the system. The trial could well be a legal minefield as prosecutors and defense attorneys argue whether evidence was gained through coercion or torture and the federal judge deals with issues such as the possible exposure of sensitive intelligence gathering and information and security if supporters of the defendants disrupt the proceedings.

Whether the military commission is a better venue is certainly an arguable point, but the fact is the decision has been made.

And there is another fact to consider: We, as Americans, should be able to believe that — even under unusual, difficult circumstances — our nation’s court system will yield fair, well-reasoned, just results. One of the fundamental differences between America and those who spawn the likes of Mohammed is our system of justice.

This trial will be an opportunity to again demonstrate that to the world.