Khalid Sheik Mohammad

WASHINGTON — Clearly, Rudy Giuliani thinks otherwise. But some counterterrorism agents are coming to the defense of the Obama administration’s move to prosecute alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four accomplices in federal court in lower Manhattan.

They say that although the trial will create risks, safety concerns won’t go much beyond business-as-usual for officials in New York, who thanks to past experience and months of planning are up to the task.

“New York is uniquely qualified to handle something like this,” said Todd Letcher, a 22-year FBI veteran who before retiring was special agent in charge of the Special Operations Division for the bureau’s New York office. “They’ve done terrorism trials before. Intelligence threat and analysis is being done on a daily basis. It’s not something that rises above the capabilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.”

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