A judgment call

Opinion: July 24, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Philadelphia Inquirer: A federal judge’s ruling last week paving the way for prosecution of a suspected al-Qaeda operative makes it clearer than ever that the right road leading out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the United States runs through the federal court system.

That’s the best means to repair damage to U.S. prestige as a result of detaining terrorism suspects for years without charge and under harsh conditions.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in New York bolstered this strategy by ruling that, despite his years-long detention, there was no reason Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani could not be tried on charges he aided the 1998 U.S. embassy murders in Kenya and Tanzania.

Ghailani contended that he was denied a right to a speedy trial by virtue of his detention — first, at a secret overseas CIA jail; then, at Guantanamo since 2006. But Kaplan determined that the alleged bodyguard and document forger for Osama bin Laden could still mount a defense, despite the delay in bringing him to trial.

Important ruling

Kaplan’s ruling is important because Ghailani is the first Guantanamo detainee moved into the civilian court system. For President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., success in staging this prosecution should demonstrate that more detainees could and should be tried in federal court without impacting the cases or U.S. security.

The ruling certainly validates the president’s decision to bring the 9/11 architect, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and others to trial.