[Al Arabiya Latest] President Barack Obama Sunday acknowledged fierce opposition to his plans to bring accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to justice in New York, but would not rule out such a trial, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that al-Qaeda still poses a greater danger than nuclear IranThe administration had hoped to prosecute Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants in a federal court in lower Manhattan, close to the site of the World Trade Center attack which killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001.
But the plan has faced blanket opposition from local lawmakers and authorities who have balked at the huge costs of such a trial, while others have warned of perceived security implications.
"I have not ruled it out, but I think it is important for us to take into account the practical logistical issues involved," Obama said in a live interview from the White House on CBS.
"If you have got a city that is saying no, and a police department that is saying no, and a mayor that is saying no, that makes it difficult," Obama said.
But he added: "we have not ruled out anything -- we will make a definitive judgment based on consultations with all the relevant authorities."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg initially welcomed the idea of holding a Sept. 11 trial in New York, but reversed his position last month, saying that a military base would make more sense as a venue.
Sheikh Mohammed and the four co-defendants are currently incarcerated in the Guantanamo Bay U.S. military facility in Cuba, which Obama says he will close down, although he has missed a one-year deadline to do so.