President-elect Donald Trump condemned Biden administration plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 bombings, and two of his co-defendants that would enable them to escape the death penalty. Only when the families reacted with outrage did Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin backtrack. It may be too late. Earlier this month, a military judge reinstated the deals, saying Austin waited too long to void them.
Trump may be friendly with Saudi Arabia, but he does not whitewash the kingdom’s past role in terrorism. In June, Trump agreed to declassify the 9/11 files in their entirety, even those that might embarrass Saudi Arabia. Trump may understand Saudi complicity in extremism and terrorism, but if Trump really recognized the lessons of pre-9/11 failure to confront Saudi-sponsored radicalism, he should recognize its parallels today.
