Verdict First, Trial Afterward

Verdict First, Trial Afterward

Worried about trying the ringleader of the 9/11 terrorists and four of his close associates in a civilian courtroom?

Don't be, says our president. He knows just how the trial will turn out -- Khalid Sheik Mohammed will be convicted and executed. We have his word on it.

He makes the trial sound like just a formality. And here some of us thought trials didn't have a predetermined outcome, not in America. Naive us.

Despite all the assurances from on high, almost every aspect of this coming trial-cum-circus troubles. From its...