Zarate: U.S. Trial For Gitmo Detainees "Appropriate"

"I think these are defendants that can be prosecuted, will be prosecuted," he said, adding: "This is a good set of defendants to put into the criminal legal system."

Host Bob Schieffer noted that the decision is already drawing strong criticism from people like New York Republican Rep. Peter King, who says the decision to hold the trial in New York City makes it a terrorist target.

"Well, I think security is always an issue with these cases," said Zarate. "But I think New York has handled big time cases before, dating back to the '93 World Trade Center case, and I think they know how to handle it."

"New York's at the top of the list for Al-Qaeda anyway, so I'm not sure that this necessarily ups the ante that much," he added.

Watch the entire conversation above. Also on Friday's show are interviews with Maggie Mahar, author of "Money Driven Medicine," and Claire Danes, Zac Efron and Richard Linklater of the film "Me and Orson Wells."

"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.