Gov. Paterson Criticizes Decision To Try Guantanamo Prisoners In New York

November 17, 2009 11:18 a.m. EST

Albany, NY (AHN) - Gov. David Paterson on Monday criticized the the Obama administration's plan to transfer top terror suspects from Guantanamo to New York for trial but said he would fully cooperate with the decision. The Justice Department announced earlier that day that it would bring five prisoners, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, allegedly the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, before U.S. courts.

"This is not a decision that I would have made," the governor told reporters. "Terrorism isn't just attack, it's anxiety, and I think you feel the anxiety and frustration of New Yorkers who took the bullet for the rest of the country."

"We're still having trouble getting over it; we still have been unable to rebuild that site," he added, referring to the World Trade Center site. "And having those terrorists tried so close to the attack is going to be an encumbrance on all New Yorkers."

Paterson said the White House had informed him six months ago about the possibility of the decision being made. He said state officials have "taken every precaution" to ensure the safety of Americans during the trial.

The governor is seeking his first full-term during next year's elections, amid continued low poll ratings and criticisms from opponents. The state's first African-American governor, Paterson has only been in office since March 2008, when he vacated his post as lieutenant governor and succeeded Eliot Spitzer, who resigned amid a prostitution scandal.

The White House is said to have asked Paterson in September not to run next year because his unpopularity may cost Democrats seats in the race for the state legislature.

The governor's remarks stand out among a slew of Democratic voices that that have voiced support for the decision. Conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh and National Republican Senatorial Campaign Chairperson John Cornyn (R-TX) have aimed volleys at the White House, heightening GOP criticisms earlier this year about why and how the administration will shut down Guantanamo and why military commissions needed to be halted.

But some leading conservatives have also backed the White House.

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene and Bob Barr, 2008 Libertarian presidential nominee, have said in a joint statement, "The scaremongering about these issues should stop."

"Civilian federal courts are the proper forum for terrorism cases," they added. "Civilian prisons are the safe, cost effective and appropriate venue to hold persons convicted in federal courts... Likewise the federal prison system has proven itself fully capable of safely holding literally hundreds of convicted terrorists with no threat or danger to the surrounding community."

The prison camp in the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was opened in 2002. Widely seen as the symbol of the Bush administration's controversial national security policies such as waterboarding, it will be closed under an executive order issued by Obama only two days after he assumed office.

The GOP opposes shuttering the facility because the nation is still at war, and they say no other facility is capable of "safely and humanely" holding top terror suspects. They also warn that bringing prisoners into the United States would risk the nation's safety.

Congress has passed legislation allowing detainees into U.S. soil only for prosecution. The Military Commissions Act of 2009 bans the release of Guantanamo prisoners to the United States but allows them to be transferred for trial 45 days after the administration submits an assessment to Congress of the risks involved in doing so.

Attorney General Eric Holder had said during his announcement on Monday, "It is important that we be able to use every forum possible to hold terrorists accountable for their actions. Just as a sustained campaign against terrorism requires a combination of intelligence, law enforcement and military operations, so must our legal efforts to bring terrorists to justice involve both federal courts and reformed military commissions."

"I also want to assure the American people that we will prosecute these cases vigorously, and we will pursue the maximum punishment available," he added. "I fully expect to direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against each of the alleged 9/11 conspirators."