First U.S. conviction in 9/11

Scripps Howard News Service: One part of the 9/11 saga has come to a not very satisfying conclusion. Last week, Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy in that terrorist assault on the United States. But many questions remain unanswered.
True, it was vindication of the Bush administration's decision to try Moussaoui in the regular U.S. court system, with all its legal protections, rather than before a quickly ginned up military tribunal.
The legal proceedings were long and tortured -- in no small part because of an extremely erratic defendant -- but they proved that the criminal courts can handle terrorists' cases. They were also a testament to the patience and perseverance of U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who still must preside over the death-penalty phase of the trial.
Still never completely resolved was the clash between Moussaoui's right to summon witnesses and the government's national security interest in keeping those witnesses, two top al Qaeda leaders in U.S. custody, out of open court.