Gitmo "Test Case" Gets a Failing Grade

A civilian jury in New York has convicted former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani on a single charge in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was found guilty only of conspiracy to destroy government buildings.

The jury did not see fit to punish him for the 224 people who were destroyed along with the buildings.

Ghailani was originally charged with 286 counts when the USG brought him to New York City for a civilian trial, in what was described as a test case of the Obama administration's intention to try terrorists outside of the military tribunal system.

Ghailani (see his detainee biography) helped an Al Qaeda cell buy a truck and components for explosives used in the bombings, after which he fled to Pakistan, where he was captured ten years later.

Here's a summary of the evidence that the military justice system developed against Ghailani, and the transcript of his military tribunal hearing.

I'd say that test case was a spectacular failure.