9/11 mastermind's Manhattan trial will make him 'larger than Osama', warns Cheney

Washington, Dec. 9 (ANI): Former US Vice President Dick Cheney has warned that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial in New York City will give make him an extremist hero like Osama bin Laden.

Fox News quoted Cheney, as saying that holding the trial in a lower Manhattan courtroom near ground zero will make Mohammed "a hero in certain circles, especially in the radical regions of Islam around the world."

"He'll be able to go in whenever he's up on the stand and proselytize, if you will, millions of people out there around the world including some of his radical Muslim friends and generate a whole new generation of terrorists," Cheney said.

Cheney termed Attorney General Eric Holder's decision in November to try Mohammed and four other 9/11 suspects in a civilian federal court near ground zero "a huge mistake."

The trial will put Mohammed "on the map," he contended.

During the interview, Cheney also criticized President Barack Obama's troop withdrawal strategy from Afghanistan.

"Everybody is watching. The Taliban are watching, the Al Qaeda are watching, the Afghans who are on our side are watching, and when they see hesitation, uncertainty, lack of clarity from an American president, they begin to think the Americans aren't going to be here very long," Cheney said. (ANI)