With Few Strong Cases, Government Rushes Toward Plea Deals for Guantanamo Detainees

As the United States moves to prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others [1] accused of being conspirators behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, federal and military prosecutors are racing each other to strike plea deals with at least a dozen additional Guantanamo detainees whose testimony could be used against some of the most notorious prisoners.

The plea bargaining exposes the difficulty the government faces in bringing prosecutable cases against these defendants and others still in Guantanamo. Most of the remaining detainees are considered too difficult to prosecute, mostly because the evidence against them is thin or based on statements obtained through coercion.

One defense attorney said federal prosecutors had so little on his client that they asked the detainee to suggest a charge he would be willing to plead guilty to.

The unusual, competitive nature of the government's efforts, which pit the Justice Department against the Pentagon, was described by both defense attorneys and senior government officials. The officials acknowledged that the flurry of offers underscores the weaknesses in the cases against many of the Guantanamo inmates whom the Obama administration had hoped to prosecute.

A former senior Justice Department official who was directly involved in the cases said the rivalry could be damaging. "You can't have someone being fought over by two different systems," the official said. "It is not illegal, but it's certainly corrupt."

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