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May 25, 2013
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The Face of TorturePosted on May 14, 2008By Marie Cocco WASHINGTON—For weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when images of twisted metal and smoldering debris still filled television screens and the wail of bagpipes at firefighters’ funerals sounded day after day, there was one face that seemed to embody the terror. It was that of Mohamed Atta, ringleader of the suicide hijackers, with his steely eyes and tight lips that appeared to reflect the evil within. Seven years later, if we were to seek a portrait that is emblematic of the way the United States has tried—and failed—to bring those responsible for the heinous plot to justice, we would have to produce a photograph of Mohammed al-Qahtani. If such a photo were made public, it would probably show a battered man with signs of diminished mental capacity, a man who authorities concede was so badly abused—those outside the Bush administration call his treatment torture—that he will not be tried by a military commission with other alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks. The Pentagon has formally dropped charges in the case against Qahtani, conceding that most of the evidence it has came from Qahtani’s own coerced statements, made after abusive interrogations. “He’s in very poor condition mentally and I would say even physically,” says Gitanjali Gutierrez, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights who is representing Qahtani in other pending cases. She said she could not be more specific about his condition because the notes she took on her last visit with him at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have yet to be declassified. For years, military and law enforcement authorities have considered Qahtani a prime catch. He was dubbed the “20th hijacker” after it came to light—only after the attack—that he had been stopped by a suspicious immigration inspector at the Orlando, Fla., airport in August 2001 and refused admittance to the United States. Following the attacks, he was caught up in the international sweeps and brought to Guantanamo, where the Bush administration has held hundreds of men it suspects of terrorist ties—without trial or charge, and without showing evidence against them. Advertisement We now know, of course, that they were approved by the highest authorities, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. A series of legal memos written for the White House sought to justify them as well. We are months away from the seventh anniversary of the attacks that stunned humanity—and sent the United States on a path to two wars—without having brought to justice a single individual alleged to be directly implicated in the crimes. The cases of five others who are considered to be 9/11 “masterminds” (Qahtani was never put in that category) are only now moving forward in a military commission system that is being challenged on several legal fronts. As for Qahtani, he is still considered an “enemy combatant” and so can be held at Guantanamo under the Bush administration’s unique theory that it may hold whomever it wants for as long as it wants during the war on terror. American taxpayers pick up the bill for his care and that of about 270 other detainees still at the facility. It is a burden from which the next president may bring us relief, but not absolution for having condoned the unconscionable. Previous item: Whistle-Blower Points to Target List in U.S. Attack on Hotel Next item: Destroying a Village of Pedophilia New and Improved CommentsIf 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 Straticus, May 18, 2008 at 6:09 pm Link to this comment
I just saw a web stream film that’s a MUST SEE regarding the 9/11 treason. It’s thoughtful and provocative and well worth watching. Brew yourselves a pot of coffee, and set aside the 2 hours to watch it. The film is in 3 parts. The first systematically dissects the Jesus myth, so if you are a devout Christian, you might want to skip this part. The middle section is devoted to the WTC <cough> attack <cough>, and the final section is a WONDERFUL expose about the Federal Reserve. Here’s the link:
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com
Report thisBy cyrena, May 17, 2008 at 9:19 pm Link to this comment
Thanks for the link Crimesofthestate.
You’re right of course. There is no evidence for any of it, including the actual airplanes themselves. No evidence of any one of them.
Meantime, I would quibble just a bit with the wording ‘bigger’ than (in relation to the 9/11 treason) since it’s difficult to put that in qualitative terms, but I get your point. I’d say that the 9/1 treason was what provided the jump off point for the destruction of humanity on a global level.
And yes, if we weren’t on to something powerful, they wouldn’t bother. Thing is, there’s no way to keep up this farce indefinitely, because it is too big for that.
Report thisBy Crimes of the State Blog, May 17, 2008 at 3:31 pm Link to this comment
I’d still like to see some actual proof that Atta got on the plane. Why isn’t there one frame of video from Boston Logan airport?
Further, the FBI flat out refuses to respond to FOIAs as to how they determined the actual identities of the aircraft involved (serial numbers, etc.)
Assuming some “Al Qaeda” operatives, who were under surveillance yet allowed to carry out the attacks by FBI, CIA and the white house, were the actual perps, treason still occurred. The air defenses were interfered with during the attacks, and our valiant “commander in chief” refused to fulfill his duties to protect America.
One of their pathetic excuses about the lack of interceptions is that it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because the re was no “shoot down authorization” from Bush (who was too busy reading My Pet Goat). That explains Bush’s actions pretty clearly.
The ridiculous idea that he was “incompetent” rather than complicit, strains credulity. He was personally moved out of his hotel in Genoa Italy because of this exact scenario. His hotel in Florida that morning had anti-aircraft missiles on the roof!
The gullibility of so many is sickening.
70 facts about 9/11 that no self-styled “debunker” has ever had a response to:
http://crimesofthestate.blogspot.com/2007/02/no-george-monbiot-these-are-facts-of.html
PS
Marie:
Report this9/11 treason is bigger than torture, bigger than Iraq, bigger than Afghanistan. In a way it intersects all those issues, and yet remains the only hope for overthrowing the current fascist regime. only by learning the truth of 9/11 will the American people assert themselves and reclaim their nation. That is why the very concept of learning the truth is ATTACKED regularly in the corporate media and even the controlled “alternative” media. If we weren’t onto something powerful, they wouldn’t bother.
By Purple Girl, May 15, 2008 at 9:28 am Link to this comment
They sit in boardrooms and the halls of Congress and WH- past & present!
Report thisGranted the attackers on 9/11 killed many AmericaNs but their targets were NOT US!
This BS Propaganda has infuriated me since the first time it slithered out of Bushes mouth!
Those Targets were the Brick & Mortar of the MIC, who are responsible for putting our citizens in Harms way because of their Greed, Business practices and disreagrd for Human life-except their own!
beleive it or not there are still plenty of Americans who remeber the ‘70’s when we realized we were in grave danger if we continued to involve ourselves in the affairs o fth Middle East. We are the ones who knew Exactly what caused those Attacks- but we were Ridiculed. We tried to stop boots being put down in Afghanistan - we know our History, we understand the consequences and the Middle Eastern Tenacity- HISTORY!!!Sociology, Anthropolgy.We shuddered and Screamed again about Iraq- we were called ‘Unamerican’, We have Cried about our Rights and Freedoms being systematically taken away by our own Gov’t- we are called ‘sympathizers’.
the Highjackers killed themselves, AQ could never doen what has befallen US since 9/11.
Teh Blood of 9/11 and since drips from the ‘Public officials’ and Corps who have continued for 30+ yrs to do business with ‘Royal’ Regimes who have Used US as their scapegoats to placate their people anger over oppression! The ones who should be held respsonsible for the Reckless endangerment of Our Citizens are still sitting in those Board Rooms, On WallStreet, and in Gov’t !AQ is the Symptom Not the insideous Disease which has brough our Nation to it’s knees!
By cyrena, May 15, 2008 at 1:13 am Link to this comment
without having brought to justice a single individual alleged to be directly implicated in the crimes...
At least Marie writes more carefully this time, and conscientiously employs the word alleged. Because, thats all ANY of the evidence against any of these guys is. Just like theres no evidence that 19 highjackers from the Middle East had anything to do with 9/11.
Matter of fact, the only reason we know that 19 alleged highjackers from al-Qaeda were responsible, is because thats what the Dick Bush regime told us the same day it happened. Theres never been any proof of that. It allegedly all burned up. (at least WEVE never seen any of it)
The cases of five others who are considered to be 9/11 masterminds (Qahtani was never put in that category) are only now moving forward in a military commission system that is being challenged on several legal fronts.
Thats because the same things happened to them. If we listen to KSM after the torturers finished with him, we find out hes confessed to everything under the sun. Now he may or may not be an al-Qaeda terrorist or mastermind. But even if he was, he still couldnt possibly do all the stuff he confessed to. Hed have to be in 5 different countries, doing 11 different things, all on the same day.
And that brings me to wondering about Qahtani. If he was supposedly NOT permitted into the US in time to participate in the 9/11 horror, how did they just happen to catch him up in the later sweep? They were sweeping Afghanistan and Pakistan. (along with all of those renditions from other secret places). So, where did they find him, after he wasnt admitted at Orlando? What, just lucky coincidence that the same guy who allegedly tried to enter the US in Orlando wound up being picked up in a sweep back in the South Asian hood, along with at least 1000 others that were captured there? That is just too bizarre, but maybe I should check it out more myself. Maybe he was rendered from somewhere. (of course they all were if we wanna be technical about it).
Meantime, she’s right about one thing this time…NONE of the perpetrators have been tried or convicted. Matter of fact, if ya ask me, none of them have even been identified and/or arrested. Or rendered, or captured. They’re all going about their business creating more terror.
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