LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman. Winner 2013 Webby Awards for Best Political Website
May 23, 2013

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     chris hedges     economy     elizabeth warren     politics     robert scheer
Most Read

A Call to Action

Bizarre, Apparently Jihadist Slaying in London (Video)

Oklahoma Needs Help, Not Ideology

Hell on Earth for Greeks

Another Memorial Day in This Endless War

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
 * NEW! * Fish Migration Reveals Ocean Warming

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
 * NEW! * A Call to Action
Act of Congress
Daily Rituals

Digs

Truthdig Bazaar more items

 
Ear to the Ground

‘9/11 Mastermind’ Mohammed Says He Wants Death Penalty

Email this item Email    Print this item Print    Share this item... Share

Posted on Jun 5, 2008
KSM arraignment
AP photo / Brennan Linsley, pool

Courtroom sketch shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, right, and Waleed bin Attash, two of the accused Sept. 11 co-conspirators, at their arraignment Thursday at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Navy base in Cuba.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees appeared in court at the U.S. naval base’s Camp Justice for an arraignment that effectively sets the legal wheels in motion for the war crimes trials of Mohammed and his alleged 9/11 co-conspirators.


AP via Yahoo News:

The arraignment begins the highest-profile test yet of the military’s tribunal system, which faces an uncertain future. The Supreme Court is to rule this month on the rights of Guantanamo prisoners, potentially delaying or halting the proceedings.

It also carries some strategic risk, and the military is trying to minimize the chance that Mohammed will be able to spread al-Qaida propaganda in courtoom speeches. The judge announced a 20-second delay in the closed-circuit video feed to prevent classified information from being disclosed outside the tightly-controlled courtroom.

None of the defendants wore handcuffs during Thursday’s proceeding, but retractable leg chains hidden underneath the raised courtroom floor were available to restrain them if they become unruly.

Calmly propping his glasses on his turban to peer at legal papers, Mohammed also grinned and exchanged a few words with someone at the defense table occupied by Waleed bin Attash, who allegedly selected and trained some of the 19 hijackers who turned airplanes into missiles in the attacks.

“There is no God but him, in him I have put my trust,” Mohammed sang before [Judge Ralph] Kohlmann asked him to stop.

Read more

 

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


New and Improved Comments

If you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy.

By moineau, June 6, 2008 at 5:13 pm Link to this comment

ruse indeed. according to one of the british defense attorneys, guantamo is a diversion, as there are approx 27,000 people in custody around the world, from iraq, afghanistan—where they are building a new $6mil prison at baghram—to prison ships like in the victorian era. they are bringing foreigners into iraq to imprison them, a new tactic for avoiding journalists and lawyers. the war on terror runs deep… the whole thing is obscene.

Report this

By rage, June 6, 2008 at 4:58 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Please! This is a ruse! Prior to arraignment, Camp Justice tortured this Ron Jeremy look-alike, who has copped to everything from the Lincoln assassination up to 9/11 before being run through paces in a kangaroo court. We all know how supremely reliable confessions extracted via torture are. I can clearly appreciate why this guy welcomes martyrdom. I, too, would welcome death, just to escape the farce of continued prosecution in this ridiculous war on terrah.

Report this

By moineau, June 6, 2008 at 5:32 am Link to this comment

i agree with one of the defense attorneys: if the american public knew the damage being done with these trials, they would reject them. i am not condoning terrorism; i am defending our constitution.

Report this

By cyrena, June 6, 2008 at 3:19 am Link to this comment

I’m not buying that the judge (or the prosecution) is worried about any al-Qaeda propaganda coming from KSM in the courtroom, or from any of these other detainees.

Nope..they are far more worried about some TRUTH coming out here, that they damn sure don’t want us to know.

We already know perfectly well that after 6 years of torture and other abuses at the hands of the CIA and other military operations, KSM is totally insane, and there is little of value that can be gained from him in a tribunal or other legal proceeding.

That’s not to say that helpful information might not eventually be gleaned from him, over a long period of time, and by professionals. But, it’s not anything they really want to find out, and none of it would provide the truth to the events of 9/11, other than to possibly show that it may have been his idea, and the Thugs beat him to it.

Report this
Newsletter

sign up to get updates


 
 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
© 2013 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.