Opinion: Accused terrorists as economic stimulus

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Although the prospect of trying accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in New York City has inspired a fit of NIMBYism by Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- a subject on which The Times editorialized Wednesday -- the mayor of a hard-luck town about 60 miles upstream on the Hudson River says hosting the trial in his backyard would make his city safer:

If Mayor Nick Valentine gets his way, the town of 30,000 will host the terror trial of accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four alleged accomplices. ‘We’ve got nothing to lose,’ said Valentine, who also runs a tailor shop.

About 60 miles up the Hudson River from New York City, Newburgh struggles with poverty, unemployment and crime. In 2004, the town was dubbed the third-worst metropolitan area in the country.

‘Sometimes, we’re in the top five in crime, which is not a very good recognition,’ said Valentine, a lifelong resident. ‘We struggle with everything.’

That’s why, he said, the trial would be a boon for his town. The influx of security personnel would chase the bad people out; journalists and lawyers in town for the trial would provide a much-needed economic boost.

‘People have said: If you have a trial, bad guys will come. My comment back to them: We’ve got bad guys right now,’ the mayor said.

‘If I had a police presence here for an extended period of time, this place would be a safer place. And in the end ... the city of Newburgh would be up a couple notches than where it was before.’

A similar storyline has played out in the debate over closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and relocating detainees to the United States. Some officials in Thomson, Ill. welcomed the transfer of detainees to their town’s mostly empty prison as a boon to the local economy. Officials in Hardin, Montana, also home to a gleaming new -- and unused -- prison (some states sure have it different than California) expressed the same sentiment to the Obama administration.

So what do you think? Should struggling Newburgh, or any other place less averse to accused terrorists for economic reasons, get its wish? Take our poll, post a comment or do both.

-- Paul Thornton