Arraignment in USS Cole case

The alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing in 2000 was arraigned Wednesday in a military courtroom at the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, The New York Times reports. 

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri did not plead guilty or not guilty to the charges against him, which stem from the attack off of Aden, Yemen that killed 17 American sailors, as well as a plot against another American warship and an attack on a French supertanker. Wednesday marked the first time that al-Nashiri has appeared in public since his capture nine years ago. 

According to the Times, Wednesday's proceedings were "the beginning of the highest profile military commission trial since the Bush administration created the system after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." Al-Nashiri could be executed if convicted, and the case is considered by some a forerunner to prosecution of five men accused of plotting the September 11 attacks, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The Washington Post reports that al-Nashiri was both waterboarded and subjected to mock executions by CIA operatives while in custody. The waterboarding was sanctioned by lawyers at the Department of Justice, but the mock executions were not. 

According to the Post, al-Nashiri entered the courtroom Wednesday "with a shoulder-rolling swagger" and at one point turned back to the public gallery, where relatives of victims of his alleged attack and others sat, and "gave an insouciant wave."

ABC News reports that the trial is the first Guantánamo case to be initiated under President Barack Obama's administration. Three other cases were resolved by plea deals.