9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Back Before Gitmo Judge
- Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:21am by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants headed back to a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay on Saturday. (AP)
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — The self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks repeatedly declined to answer a judge’s questions Saturday and his co-defendants knelt in prayer in what appeared to be a concerted protest against the military proceedings.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men appeared for the first time in more than three years for arraignment at a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, charged with 2,976 counts of murder for the 2001 attacks.
The hearing quickly bogged down before they could be arraigned. The men took off the earphones that provide Arabic translations and refused to answer any questions from the judge, Army Col. James Pohl, dramatically slowing a hearing that is heavy on military legal procedure.
At one point, two defendants got up and prayed alongside their defense tables under the watchful eyes of troops arrayed along the sides of the high-security courtroom on the U.S. base in Cuba.
Prisoner Walid bin Attash was put in a restraint chair for unspecified reasons and then removed from it after he agreed to behave. Lawyers for all defendants complained that the prisoners were prevented from wearing the civilian clothes of their choice.
Mohammed wore a white turban in court; his flowing beard, which had appeared to be graying in earlier hearings and photos, was streaked with red henna.
Mohammed’s civilian lawyer, David Nevin, said he believed Mohammed was not responding because he believes the tribunal is unfair.
Jim Harrington, a civilian attorney for Yemeni defendant Ramzi Binalshibh, said his client would not respond to questions “without addressing the issues of confinement.” No further explanation was given.
Pohl warned he would not permit defendants to block the hearing and would continue without his participation.
“One cannot choose not to participate and frustrate the normal course of business,” Pohl said.
He addressed the earpiece issue by bringing the translators into the courtroom to translate out loud and attempted to stick to the standard script for tribunals, asking the defendants if they understood their rights to counsel and would accept the attorneys appointed for them. The men did not respond, not even to acknowledge that they understood the questions.
Through much of the session, the defendants seemed to be trying to give the impression they were in a different world than the rest of the court.
Cheryl Bormann, a civilian attorney for bin Attash, appeared in a conservative Islamic outfit that left only her face uncovered and she asked the court to order other women present to wear “appropriate” clothing so that defendants do not have to avert their eyes “for fear of committing a sin under their faith.”
And Binalshibh interrupted the session with an outburst from the defense table in a mix of Arabic and broken English, saying, “Maybe they will kill me and say I committed suicide.”
Six 9/11 family members were in the courtroom with the defendants while more than 100 others watched the proceedings on closed-circuit video feeds in the U.S. Jim Riches, a retired city firefighter whose son was killed at the World Trade Center, said some people blurted out “C,mon, are you kidding me?” as the defendants became more disruptive.
In the past, during the failed first effort to prosecute them at the U.S. base in Cuba, Mohammed has mocked the tribunal and said he and his co-defendants would plead guilty and welcome execution. But there were signs that at least some of the defense teams were preparing for a lengthy fight, planning challenges of the military tribunals and the secrecy that shrouds the case.
The arraignment is “only the beginning of a trial that will take years to complete, followed by years of appellate review,” attorney James Connell, who represents defendant Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, told reporters gathered at the base to observe the hearing.
“I can’t imagine any scenario where this thing gets wrapped up in six months,” Connell said.
Defendants in what is known as a military commission typically do not enter a plea during their arraignment. Instead, the judge reads the charges, makes sure the accused understand their rights and then moves on to procedural issues. Lawyers for the men said they were prohibited by secrecy rules from disclosing their clients’ intentions.
Harrington, representing Binalshibh, who has said at one hearing that he was proud of the Sept. 11 attacks, said he did not think that any of the defendants would plead guilty, notwithstanding their earlier statements.
Army Capt. Jason Wright, one of Mohammed’s Pentagon-appointed lawyers, declined to comment on the case.
Before the hearing, family members at Guantanamo said they were grateful for the chance to see a case they believe has been delayed too long.
Suzanne Sisolak of Brooklyn, whose husband Joseph was killed in his office in the trade center’s north tower, said she is not concerned about the ultimate outcome as long as the five prisoners do not go free.
“They can put them in prison for life. They can execute them,” Sisolak said. “What I do care about is that this does not happen again. They need to be stopped.”
The arraignment for the five comes more than three years after President Barack Obama’s failed effort to try the suspects in a federal civilian court and close the prison at the U.S. base in Cuba.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced in 2009 that Mohammed and his co-defendants would be tried blocks from the site of the destroyed trade center in downtown Manhattan, but the plan was shelved after New York officials cited huge costs to secure the neighborhood and family opposition to trying the suspects in the U.S.
Congress then blocked the transfer of any prisoners from Guantanamo to the U.S., forcing the Obama administration to refile the charges under a reformed military commission system.
New rules adopted by Congress and Obama forbid the use of testimony obtained through cruel treatment or torture. Gen. Mark Martins, the chief prosecutor, said the commission provides many of the same protections that defendants would get in civilian court. “I’m confident that this court can achieve justice and fairness,” he said.
But human rights groups and the defense lawyers say the reforms have not gone far enough and that restrictions on legal mail and the overall secret nature of Guantanamo and the commissions makes it impossible to provide an adequate defense.
They argue that the U.S. has sought to keep the case in the military commission to prevent disclosure of the harsh treatment of prisoners such as Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times and subjected to other measures that some have called torture.
Mohammed, a Pakistani citizen who grew up in Kuwait and attended college in Greensboro, North Carolina, has admitted to military authorities that he was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks “from A to Z,” as well as about 30 other plots, and that he personally killed Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Mohammed was captured in 2003 in Pakistan.
Binalshibh was allegedly chosen to be a hijacker but couldn’t get a U.S. visa and ended up providing assistance such as finding flight schools. Bin Attash, also from Yemen, allegedly ran an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan and researched flight simulators and timetables. Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi is a Saudi accused of helping the hijackers with money, Western clothing, traveler’s checks and credit cards. Al-Aziz Ali, a Pakistani national and nephew of Mohammed, allegedly provided money to the hijackers.
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Comments (74)
dalebrendan
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:46pmFACT: Blow back is a reality
FACT: We should fight to WIN
…it amazes me that certain groups of people have completely forgotten–or perhaps never had any understanding–of who and what we are fighting against. Get a clue?
I have become more and more Conservative & Libertarian (Ron Paul for Secretary of Treasury please) every day.
Arguing with the left is almost completely futile–unless you personalize it–which allows you to use their own words against them to prove the fallacy of their position. …don’t let your own ego get in the way.
1.) Acknowledge their point: “Yes, I see your point BUT how would you FEEL if someone treated YOUR mom or YOUR sister as a slave.”
Whatever their argument may be and no matter How Frustrated you may be. This is how we remold their lunacy–one person at a time.
2.) “I understand that the …blah, blah, blah sucks BUT …”
…try it! and don’t expect them to just switch course all at once. Expect a bit of “blow back” from them. That’s okay and normal. It is just a knee-jerk reaction to the realization that for so long they have been completely and totally blinded and mistaken.
3.) Finally, do not hold a grudge against them. Welcome them with open arms and never ever refer or hold their past stupidity over their heads.
If you want to make a difference…
IT WORKS.
Report Post »EndTheFedNOW
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 5:17pm911 was an inside job. Just like Oklahoma city and Waco 911 was to start turning our police in military. To pass bills to take away our liberties and freedoms. And of course (the republicans fav) WAR WAR WR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR WAR.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 9:14pmThat it was, End….that it most definitely was. But you’re not going to convince any of these people. You could provide the very best sources for them to look into it for themselves and they will ignore it….or they put up links of Popular Mechanics debunking 9/11 or the like…lol. It’s sad. It doesn’t help when certain well meaning people leave dumb links that actually hurt their case. Very sad indeed.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:05pmTell this man they just got a new shipment of all kinds of “virgins” into hell. They await.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:46pmWe are a Sick Culture… as Compassion allows… Killers to Live!
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:57pmThis man has eyes that are like two bottomless pools of evil. He needs to go where he can find his virgins. That dress he has on makes me wonder if it would be female virgins.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:54pmMaybe Al Sharpton or Louis Farakhan will help him complet his sentence. They must want Virgins too.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:36pmWearing a beard & a turban (or any other hat) is psychologically equivalent to wearing sun glasses to avoid the pressure of public scrutiny.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:27pmOne of the first of many decisions that made be abhor the Holder DOJ .
Report Post »SeniorCitizen214
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:26pmWhat is he still alive for; send him to the hereafter already. But first shave his head, beard and feed him pork sausage for his last meal then cremate him. Leave nothing behind for his followers to remember erase him from being.
Report Post »bigben357mag
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:36pmWrap him in bacon, pour pig blood down his throat, and then shoot the S.O.B. !!!
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:41pmI would prefer to stake him out over an Ant hill
Report Post »Al J Zira
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:31pmWhy does this animal still breathe?
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:59pmI like him with the beard, it covers up his UGLY real good. Before I executed him I would pull everyone of them out one at a time. His eyebrows too.
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:48pmClassic waste of taxpayer money; a bullet right between the eyes would have sufficed.
Report Post »trueamerican40
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:34pmJust under 3,000 more life sentences to go! Hang in there, Sheihk. They ought to just shoot him and put it on Youtube. Fear of justice is the greatest deterrent to the wicked.
Report Post »copatriots
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:32pmThat is exactly the problem……there is no “fear of justice”. It is almost 11 years later and justice has yet to take place! That is sickening!
When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Ecc 8:11
Report Post »Suzanne D
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 2:56pmYou’re forgetting that these men WANT to be put to death … that would make them martyrs. The concept of “justice” in this instance is completely lost on them.
Report Post »LaderaCa
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:21pmMaybe a variation on Trial by Combat could serve as an appropriate test? It was believed that God gave the necessary strength to the righteous one to ensure victory. In my variation, these slimes would be allowed to swim 1 mile out to an awaiting ship. If successful, then they can go free.
Report Post »Sorry, forgot to mention that waters around Gitmo are shark infested, but given that they believe their cause is just, they would be protected. Thus their Trial by Combat would determine how their cause is really seen in the eyes of God. Apologies to PETA for inflicting cruel punishment on the poor sharks.
georgepatton
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:08pmNow there‘s a dude who needs to see the inside of a wood chipper while it’s running!
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:24pmToo fast & not painful enough.
Report Post »vtxphantom
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:04pmShave that beard off of him, he may have an IED in there, not to mention lice, flees, and a hack saw.
Report Post »nocomment
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:49pmI can’t think of a better candidate for the phrase:
AIM FOR THE HOODIE
Report Post »Inlightofthings
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:45pmHe looks harmless enough…that KSM does…
Report Post »boomboom
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:08pmOMG there she is again : Khalid Sheik Bridezilla.
Report Post »AmazingGrace8
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 5:43pmJeffrey Damer was a nice looking man too. So was that nice looking man who loved certain types of brunettes & he drove a “love-bug”. So was that nice old man that picked up a young-girl hitch-hiker and cut off her arms & legs & left her for dead in the desert (amazingly, she lived). Jeckle & Hyde personalities…and then there are some that their ideology drives them to mass murder.
Report Post »I don’t understand why these prisoners are treated like royalty. Oh, now I remember, “the world is watching”.In many parts of the world, Good means “weak”. Strange concept to the current admin. and their dealings with countries that don’t care 2 Hoots about us and our Good. Be like them?…I’ll repeat the EPA leader, in polite conversation, made a statement , (I mean)..that is a pet peeve of mine(I am NOT perfect) when people start talking & then in the middle say, I mean…anyway on with the story, not “litter-lee” hang 5 rebels, but “smother them with regulations”….that is the “kinder & good-kind way” of dealing with people that just don’t want to FOLLOW OUR DIRECTIONS!
Found guilty or not guilty just another reason for our enemies to hate America more. And the beat goes on.
nocomment
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:44pmDON’T LET HIM NEAR YOUR GOAT!
or your cat, dog, or son. And keep him away from the liquor cabinet and the sliced ham.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:26pmLiberals are so quick to give us a false dilemma. So quick in fact that you have to wonder if they are suicidal & want to take you with them. Obviously they hate America & most Americans.
We either have to give up all our intelligence operative, methods & information or we have to let our enemies go free.
They want us to set Khalid Sheikh Mohammed free? No not really. Liberals really want the president to give an abject apology to KSM & pay KSM reparations.
Report Post »BeingThere
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:18pmBuild a big tower, at least 300 feet, (don’t want to spend too much money on this animal), put him at the top and set it on fire. Then wait for him to jump. Televise it!!!!
Report Post »TSUNAMI-22
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:29pmI can on board with this idea.
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:51pmhe brought us to the knowledge that there could be consequences to us for our policies against his people[propping up dictators for cheap below market oil prices, military bases, and support of european zionist ethnic cleansing et.c]. Prior to 9-11 we believed we could act in the world for our interests at the expense of indigenous peoples interests with impunity. Alquada launced the new millenium-of the people-all peopl a bottom up resistence to our meddling with them for our unjust benefitrs. yes they murdered innocents-so do we and always have for our interest. humanlife and its value is not what you’re angry about but simply that you finally got blowback and never thought you
Report Post »would [certainly not by a grassroots movement as oppossed to a competing superpwor say]they see themselves as freedom fighters-and we have murdered innocents when we deemed it necessary too.
BeingThere
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 4:17pmWe sure have a lot of traitors in this country now, time to deal with them!!!!
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:43pmRose it seems you share the Blame American First view with President Obama.
Report Post »hypnos
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 2:42pm@rose Ellen your generalizations are not based in fact even if they were 2 wrongs don’t make a right. Also if they weren’t pissed off at us they would kill each other or terrorize their own people with sharia law. Take your idiotic fu&ked up rants to the hills of afghanistan.
Report Post »getourcountryback
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:03pmThey should give this piece of trash the same as he gave Daniel Pearl.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:02pmI will say only this much in regards to the mastermind of 9/11; with UBL dead one ghost of my past has been avenged; with this man, as anti-death penalty as I normally am (I prefer locking them away for life and welding the door shut) I can make an exception here; as this man is one who cost me my fiance that day.
Executing him once is too easy of an ending in my book.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:58am9/11 mastermind……LOL
Report Post »Individualism
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:54amI hope he admits its an inside job.
Report Post »therealconservative
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:01pmYou mean that Ron Paul was the real ‘Mastermind’?
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:06pmAs Monty Python’s Flying Circus says… “And now for something completely different.”
Enjoy the comic relief Ron…
ZoNation: Why Ron Paul is the Jeremiah Wright of the Right http://www.therightscoop.com/zonation-why-ron-paul-is-the-jeremiah-wright-of-the-right/
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:17pmtherealconservative
Darn, you beat me to it.
After reading individualism’s comment, I think blaming Ron Paul for 911 can be taken every bit as seriously.
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:27pmNever seen (9/11 Pentagon Punchout) Footage from Operation Noble Eagle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK6QDDRFMCo
9/11 CONSPIRACY: MORE PROOF OF BOMBS PLANTED IN THE TOWERS!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7cvjBViV7g
any questions?
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:33pmRAZ. I’m surprised you can get an internet signal from Ruby Ridge, or Ted Kaczynski’s old shack? Okay… which is it??
Report Post »therealconservative
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:35pm@raz
any questions?
Just one. Why did you stop taking your meds?
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:38pmNever seen (9/11 Pentagon Punchout) Footage from Operation Noble Eagle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK6QDDRFMCo
all involved will be hanged …families, ancestor’s all…will dig you up just to hang your worthless hide twice.
all who think this is a game are in for a deadly surprise.
you have been warned .
Report Post »therealconservative
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:44pm@raz
Actually we’ll be quite safe. ‘They’ will be coming after you, for spilling the beans. Do you feel like your being watched? You are!
Report Post »Individualism
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:46pmit was either an inside job or blowback for your neo con foreign policy of murdering and killing millions abroad either way the blood is on your hands.
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:53pmas usual the social freaks have no proof or anything…just bs.
worthless sobs.
Report Post »therealconservative
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:19pm@raz
Did you get your feeling hurt, because normal people don‘t get their ’FACTS’ from youtube. Always keep an eye to the sky for that Predator UAV, ‘They’ are wacthing you.
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:37pmI can almost bet that just based on what RAZ and his 4 other Blaze accounts have written just here (and who knows what and where else)………
……..in his personal life, he’s on a few “watch lists”….
I also have a feeling that George Zimmerman would have reported this guy being in his neighborhood just as quickly as he did Trevon Martin. Maybe quicker….
Report Post »barber2
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 3:29pmINDI : yeah. Ho. Ho. Like I would believe any thing this guy would say…and probably you , too!
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 7:08pmi use youtube because most like yourselves can barely comprehend english, much less read it.
also , saves posting 5 to 20 links.
now then… no fact showing , bs spewing sobs is that all you have ? name calling ?
go back home to your mama’s basement
. you and yours are a waste of space and time.
video from the pentagon clean-up…showing no plane and a perfect missle path…
Report Post »disprove it or stfu , tired of your bs .
hypnos
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 3:08pm@razlord, you like pics and videos,try this one http://www.debunking911.com/. First make sure your lithium level is stabilized then watch.The one thing that you refuse to use is your common sense. Wake up fool.
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on May 6, 2012 at 10:07pm@Hypnos…….Do you like to read? Here’s a great book for you. Enjoy.
Debunking 9/11 Debunking : http://www.amazon.com/Debunking-11-Mechanics-Defenders-Conspiracy/dp/156656686X
Report Post »LeadNotFollow
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 11:45am…
Report Post »Why hasn’t this murderer been executed yet?
progressiveslayer
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:11pmExtract as much information from the sub human then execute him,he admitted his role in it so it’s pretty straight forward from there.
Report Post »iampraying4u
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 12:14pmAmen
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on May 5, 2012 at 1:23pmprogressiveslayer
Extract as much information from the sub human then execute him,he admitted his role in it so it’s pretty straight forward from there.
_____
To a liberal a non-coerced confession given repeated to several different AP, UPI, & Reuters reporters is no proof at all. Add in the fact that they have committed previous acts of violence such as the 2000 USS Cole Bombing, the 1998 Embassy bombing & the liberal will still think if they can only get the right defense attorney they can set the terrorists free & blame America.
The same hold true for people, who are so far right that they meet whacked out leftists.
Report Post »