9/11 Families Betrayed. Terrorist’s Lives Saved

We have the most contentious presidential election in American history coming up in three months, November 5, 2024. Do you think the timing of announcing the plea deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two other 9/11 terrorists, has anything to do with manipulating this coming election? Could there be some value driven political strategy to charge them quickly and take the death penalty off the table?

I can only imagine the anguish the relatives and loved ones of those killed on 9/11 must feel. That these terrorists who planned and executed the killing of 3,000 Americans did not get a more just punishment for their admitted diabolical crimes against humanity?

Even though President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House say they played no role in this process, Biden also tells us that there is no inflation and the border is closed!

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday, “We had no role in that process. The president had no role, the vice president had no role, I had no role and the White House had no role,” Sullivan said. Biden did “direct his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter. Those consultations are ongoing.” This was not a convincing strategy for the families who lost loved ones on 9/11.

Terry Strada, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, said it appears the Biden administration was pressuring prosecutors to make the plea deal. “They’re the ones that want this off of their plate. It’s an election year,” she told Fox News Digital. “They (terrorists) committed this heinous crime against the United States. They should have faced the charges, faced the trial and faced the punishment. Since when do the people responsible for murder get to call the shots?”

I remember that day of raw fear. Turning on the news, trembling and gasping with tears streaming down my cheeks, as I watched the planes crash into the twin towers.

I remember watching the twin towers burn and the monstrous fires consuming these great iconic structures.  They crumbled and become dust while thousands ran from the gigantic, billowing clouds of building debris, chasing and enveloping them like a surreal monster.

I remember the fear in their eyes, their screams and heroism trying to help others flee this giant monster wanting to smother them.

I remember the grey and white ash that covered these poor frightened souls so that they had difficulty seeing and breathing.

I remember seeing pictures of terrified desperate souls, jumping from the windows of the towers, rather than burn to death. Oh, what courage they had to make that decision. They were heroes.

I remember watching the fire fighters and police officers courageously running into the towers to save those who might still be alive while massive explosions and gigantic, menacing fires broke out throughout the top floors of the towers. Their bravery to this day overwhelms me. They are the greatest humanitarians, heroes who deserve our admiration for their courage and commitment to selflessly save their fellow man no matter what the circumstances and risk to their own lives.

I remember the day after seeing the remains, the unending gigantic piles of twisted, burned metal and debris of the once magnificent twin towers, the pride of New York.

I remember our heroic Mayor Rudy Guliani, whose courage, strength and good judgement, carried the pain, sadness and fear we were all experiencing. He was not only the mayor of New York City, he became the mayor of all United States citizens. He became my mayor! To this day, I admire him for he held our country together with his strength and determination.

I remember President George W. Bush standing with one of the Great Fireman in a symbolic gesture reassuring the country that those who perpetrated this horrific event on the United States will pay a heavy price.

I remember the fear we all shared as a country as to what the future would bring. Our main concern being would this be the start of a war on US soil?

I sadly remember, the stories of the first responders who suffered death, disability or life-threatening illnesses from the toxic substances they inhaled, touched or were injured by when trying to save their fellow man. Their greatness will never be forgotten.

And I remember how we pulled together as a nation in support and care for one another. We were able to miraculously put all our differences aside for that monumental moment.

So to all of this I ask, how is it possible that a plea deal is a justified punishment for the deadliest attack on the United States of America, since Pearl Harbor? An outright betrayal. And remarkably, after 23 years, right before the most critical and contentious presidential election in American history?