Iraqpundit:

The first victory for the terrorist is that United States is set to grant KSM a trial in New York city, the site of al-Qaeda’s most successful attack. According to various reports, this is what he demanded from the moment he was captured in Pakistan. The NYT says, ” He wanted a lawyer, and he wanted to be taken to New York.” Sure it took about eight years, but he still has gotten what he requested.

There is no doubt that KSM will use the trial to make himself look like a hero to the Muslim world and the developing world in general, by appearing as the little guy who outwitted the super Americans. Indeed, by granting him a civilian trial with full constitutional rights, the U.S. administration appears to have outwitted itself. The U.S. will be in a tough position: a closed trial would make everyone suspicious, and an open trial will be a circus. Either way, KSM will be in a position to capitalize.

From his own point of view, there is almost no way KSM can lose. Attorney General Eric Holder has already called the water boarding KSM endured “torture.” It will be very easy for his supporters to portray KSM as a hero to the Muslim world for tolerating 86 torture sessions. Holder also has said that he will seek the death penalty. And KSM already has said he want to die. He will go down a “martyr,” which is what he wants. KSM will be granted all the rights of the U.S. he despises, and he will use each one to advance his own agenda.

What’s curious is that the so-called “terrorism experts believe that Mr. Mohammed will always be considered too secular — and too practical — to be completely accepted by the terrorist network’s senior leaders. ” Secular? Huh? Where does that come from? Have these experts seen the dude’s beard? And okay, so Ayman Al Zawahiri doesn’t mention KSM in his messages, but he will maximize the instant KSM becomes the celebrity of the hour.

What’s the U.S. to do? I really don’t know. But does the law say that these rights are due to citizens? Is KSM a U.S. citizen? What the murderer deserves is to be forgotten. Most people have a short attention span. If the press doesn’t splash his stories on their pages, and his visage is not shown on television, he could fade away. But the upcoming trial short-circuits that option.

The terror experts say that KSM is disliked by the higher ups in al-Qaeda. “That’s what set him apart, and that’s what made him so scary.” No, that’s not what makes him scary. What makes him scary is that he knows how to use the U.S. system against the American administration in order to win the game on his own terms.