Guantánamo detainees' future in political, legal limbo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - As the U.S. military prepares for the first war crimes trial under President Barack Obama, its most high-profile case against the planners of the Sept. 11 attacks is stuck in political and legal limbo.

Canadian prisoner Omar Khadr, accused of killing an American soldier during a raid on an al-Qaida compound, is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 9 at the U.S. base in Cuba.

But Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the professed mastermind of the attacks, and four alleged accomplices are still sequestered at Guantánamo without charges. The Obama administration, after months of review, hasn't made a decision on whether to seek a military or civilian trial.

It's a delay that has angered relatives of Sept. 11 victims. It also has created an unusual situation: Previous war-crimes proceedings, in which Mohammed boasted of his role in the attacks and said he wanted to plead guilty, have essentially been erased.

No U.S. officials will say what the plans are for the five men who were transferred in 2006 to Guantanamo from secret CIA custody.

"There's no case, there's no judge, there's nothing," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard Federico, a military lawyer appointed to defend alleged plotter Ramzi bin al Shibh. "They are back into the black hole."

Attorney General Eric Holder announced in November the trial would be moved to federal court in New York. But the administration backtracked and put the issue under review after local officials objected to the costs and potential security threat.

The military and justice department refer questions about the status to the White House, which said in March a decision was weeks away. An Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Friday it is still reviewing the venue and forum for the trial.

Lawyers for the Sept. 11 defendants and other observers doubt an announcement will be made before November elections, because moving them to the United States and keeping them in Guantánamo for a military trial are both politically unpopular choices.

The administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the review is ongoing, said the election does not have any influence on the process. The official said the security and cost concerns of state and local officials in New York are being taken into account.

As the debate over what to do goes on behind closed doors, military lawyers still visit the Sept. 11 defendants, even though the men have said they want to act as their own lawyers during any trial.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Hatcher, meets every three weeks with his appointed client, Waleed bin Attash, a Yemeni who allegedly ran an al-Qaida training in Afghanistan, where two of the 19 hijackers were trained.

"It's obviously in a holding pattern," Hatcher said. "I can tell you we are preparing on both fronts, whether it goes to federal court or to military court."