The Tumultuous Week in the Sept. 11 Case
In a dramatic turn of events over just three days last week, the long-stalled Sept. 11 case experienced two significant developments that left victims’ families in shock and reignited a crucial political debate. Initially, a Pentagon official greenlighted a plea agreement that aimed to bring closure to the case with lifetime sentences for the accused. However, in an unexpected move, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III swiftly reversed that decision, reopening the door for a potential death penalty trial for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks, along with two accused accomplices.
This abrupt shift thrust a case that had gradually faded from public attention over 12 years of pretrial proceedings back into the media spotlight, with many relatives of the nearly 3,000 victims yearning for a trial at Guantánamo Bay that seemed perpetually out of reach. The following account chronicles the critical three days that unfolded, drawing on interviews and discussions with Pentagon officials, family members of Sept. 11 victims, and individuals involved in the case.
Wednesday, July 31
On this day, which appeared unremarkable at first, the case at Guantánamo Bay was shrouded in secrecy. The court session was closed to the public, with no defendants present, as a retired Army officer provided testimony regarding his experiences managing the secret prison where the defendants have been held since 2006. This marked the 51st round of pretrial hearings, a process that had become somewhat routine.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the public, a senior official within the Defense Department, responsible for overseeing military commissions, was making critical decisions in a nearby office. It was during this private meeting that the official authorized the contentious plea agreement involving Mr. Mohammed and the two alleged accomplices, potentially setting the stage for an unexpected resolution in a case that had long remained in limbo.
