The Backstory Behind the Decision to Try the 9/11 Plotters in N.Y.

The decision to hold a civilian criminal trial in New York City for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators in planning the Sept. 11 attacks was the single biggest legal and political question that Attorney General Eric Holder has had to face, and it was preceded by four months of "deliberation, lobbying and tug of war" inside the Justice Department, according to the Washington Post.

The process started in July when Holder asked top federal prosecutors in four districts to give him recommendations by Oct. 1 on whether to send Guantanamo Bay detainees to military commissions, federal courts or into what the Post described as a "legal limbo" known as indefinite detention. Holder also conferred with intelligence experts at Justice and with the department's national security division, as well as key Pentagon officials.

The Post said that, in the end, the biggest factor influencing Holder was a security study by the U.S. Marshall's service that said the hardened courthouse in the Southern District of New York, a secure Metropolitan Correctional Center and availability of underground transportation tunnels made New York the safest option.

Time Magazine explores whether the case against Mohammed is strong enough.

The Guardian of London says the case will pose huge legal challenges for the U.S. judiciary.

Lynn Sweet reports in the Chicago Sun-Times that other Guantanamo detainees may end up in a nearly empty northwestern Illinois state prison.