The status of terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay is still being contested 10 years after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Civil rights groups criticized the Bush administration for its promotion of military tribunals to try terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, instead of federal courts on the U.S. mainland.

Trying at least some of these suspects in U.S. courts was one of President Barack Obama's objectives upon taking office, and widely considered a crucial step toward Obama's goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center -- a promise that we rated Broken. The same executive order that announced the closure of the detention facility also halted military trials at Guantanamo. In November 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice would try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- the Al-Qaida mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- and four others in federal court in New York City.

A number of factors prevented these federal court trials from occurring.

Congressional lawmakers criticized the administration's plan, citing national security implications if terrorist suspects were brought to the U.S. mainland. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who initially supported civilian trials, reversed his stance, arguing that the extra security costs and general disruption would be too burdensome on the city. A last-ditch attempt at trying the suspects from a federal prison in the village of Otisville, N.Y. also fell through.

Particularly damaging to the administration's goal was the outcome of the civilian trial of Ahmed Ghailani, a suspect in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Ghailani is unique for being the first former Guantanamo detainee to be tried in U.S. civilian court. A jury acquitted Ghailani of over 200 chargers in late 2010. Ultimately he was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to destroy government property. Despite his conviction, this experience left a sour taste in the mouths of many politicians. "If Ghailani had been acquitted of just one more count, he would have been considered innocent of these heinous crimes," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in a press release.

Shortly thereafter the administration opted to try Mohammed and others in the military tribunal system. One reason for this decision was the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2011, in which Congress prohibited the use of defense funds to transfer prisoners from Guantanamo to the United States.  

Attorney General Eric Holder said the administration made the change so as not to delay prosecutions. "We must face a simple truth: those restrictions are unlikely to be repealed in the immediate future. And we simply cannot allow a trial to be delayed any longer for the victims of the 9/11 attacks or for their families who have waited nearly a decade for justice," he said.

The House of Representatives, now under Republican control, wants to renew the transfer ban for the next fiscal year. In July, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012, by 336-87. Like its predecessor, the act would prohibit funds from being used to transfer detainees to the United States. The Senate version of the budget bill passed through the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in June. The bill is still waiting for approval in the full Senate.

Without any clear alternatives, the Obama administration has been forced into employing the military tribunal system to try terrorist suspects. President Obama pledged that he would develop an alternative to military commissions. Despite the administration's efforts, we do not see this happening at any point in the near future. We rate this Promise Broken.