New York pressure results in U-turn on 9/11 trial

THE Obama administration has given up its plan to try the alleged Twin Towers plotters in Manhattan, bowing to pressure from New York officials and business leaders to move proceedings elsewhere.

The reversal on whether to try the alleged 9/11 terrorists only blocks from the former World Trade Centre site came after Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg abandoned his strong support for the plan and said the cost and disruption would be too great.

But behind the brave face that many New Yorkers had put on for weeks, opposition had been gathering force.

After a dinner in New York on 14 December, Steven Spinola, president of the city's Real Estate Board, drew aside David Axelrod, President Barack Obama's closest adviser, to convey an urgent plea: move the 9/11 trial out of Manhattan.

More recently, in a series of presentations to business leaders, local elected officials and community representatives of Chinatown, Police Commissioner Raymond W Kelly laid out his plan for securing the trial: blanketing a swathe of Lower Manhattan with police checkpoints, vehicle searches, rooftop snipers and dog patrols.

"They were not received well," said one city official.

Last Tuesday, in a meeting Mayor Bloomberg had with at least 24 federal judges in Manhattan, one judge raised the question of security. The mayor, according to several people present, said he was sure the courthouse could be made safe, but that it would be costly and difficult to achieve.

The next day, the mayor, who back in November had hailed the idea of trying Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused of the 9/11 plot in downtown Manhattan, made clear he had changed his mind.

Mayor Bloomberg's remarks set off a stampede of New York City officials who declared that a civilian trial for the 9/11 suspects was a great idea – as long as it didn't happen in their city.

By Friday, Justice Department officials were studying other locations, focusing especially on military bases and prison complexes.

The story of how officials seemed to have so quickly moved from a "bring it on" bravado to an "anywhere but here" involves many factors, including anxiety about terrorism after the attempted airliner bombing on Christmas Day. Ultimately, it appears, New York officials could not tolerate ceding much of the city to trials that could last for years.

"The administration is in a tricky political and legal position," said Julie Menin, a lawyer. "But it means shutting down our financial district. It could cost $1 billion. It's absolutely crazy."