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| Tribunals take bizarre twist in KSM case |
| 2007-03-17 |
| By John Podhoretz The transcript of al Qaeda operative Khalid Sheik Mohammed's March 10 tribunal hearing runs 26 pages. It was a very polite proceeding - and remained so even as Mohammed's representative offered a lengthy statement in which he confessed to plotting almost every single terrorist attack on the United States since 1993. The politesse continued when Mohammed's representative read the statement that he "decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head." And what sentence did Khalid Sheik Mohammed repeat over and over again, on at least seven occasions during his hearing? "Be fair to people," he said by way of offering advice to the four military officers who comprised the tribunal. Be fair to people. The purpose of the hearing was to determine whether Khalid Sheikh Mohammed deserves the status of "enemy combatant." You might think that, since Mohammed stipulated almost from the beginning of the hearing that he was an "enemy combatant," there wasn't much to discuss. But Mohammed complained about three bizarre things. First, he was angry that some evidence was taken off a computer seized by the United States at the time of his capture in March 2003. It wasn't fair, he said, to accuse him of anything because he had a photo of 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta on the computer. "I don't think this should [be] accepted," he said. "There are many hundred thousand Americans who have a lot of picture[s] on their computer." This objection seemed a little beside the point, considering Mohammed later said flatly that "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z." The government rejected the notion that the tribunal needed to hear a witness' testimony on the matter. Second, Mohammed insisted he never told an Al-Jazeera reporter he was head of the "Al Qaeda Military Committee" and wanted to call a witness who would testify he never said such a thing. (One imagines he fears the wrath of whoever is the head of the Military Committee, either here or in heaven.) Third, he wanted "several sub-paragraphs under parent-paragraph 3" to be "combined into one sub-paragraph to avoid creating the false impression that there are more allegations or statements against me than there actually are." This, from a man who a few minutes later would freely confess to 31 acts of terrorism or terror plots that led to the deaths of thousands of people. One thing Mohammed did not do on his own in the course of the tribunal hearing was issue complaints about mistreatment. Rather, it was the American leading the tribunal - an unnamed U.S. Navy captain - who actually chose to open a discussion with Mohammed about whether or not the No. 3 man in Al Qaeda had been tortured following his capture. "You claim torture," the tribunal leader said about a written statement made by Mohammed that was entered into evidence. The statement wasn't released by the Pentagon, so we do not know what it says or when it was made. Mohammed gave a peculiar answer - peculiar because he insisted on speaking in broken English and his meaning is hard to decipher. He seemed to be saying he could not recall whether he was tortured or not. "I, ah, cannot remember now," he said. His immediate next words don't appear in the transcript. They were redacted, presumably because Mohammed mentioned the location of his secret detention prior to his incarceration at Gitmo. (He didn't arrive at Gitmo until September 2006.) In any case, Mohammed seemed far less concerned about his own treatment than the treatment of other detainees. Throughout the tribunal hearing, he kept going back to the issue of others captured in Afghanistan. "I will not regret when I say I'm enemy combatant," Mohammed said, "but there are many detainees" who don't deserve the title, according to Mohammed. "I'm saying for you to be fair with people," he said. Be fair with people. Still, the tribunal leader persisted with his line of questioning about torture. "Now, what you have told us about your previous treatment is on the record of these proceeding[s] now," he said, "and will be reported for any investigation that may be appropriate." This 26-page transcript tells me a few things. First, there is such a thing as unmitigated, unmediated, undeniable evil in human form. Second, there is reason to be wary of every word this man says, including his claims of responsibility for anything and everything. He might be speaking the truth. He might be a psychotic megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur. Or he might be shouldering blame to deflect it from others still in detention. Third, the military tribunal process isn't entirely about determining the status of enemy combatants. It seems to have been redirected in part - turned into an examination of the conduct of the United States in the War on Terror. And so, even as we attempt to deal with the evil of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, we Americans cannot resist the temptation, so often indulged in this painful decade, to turn on ourselves. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #5 Be fair with people. Like the 3,000 who happened to be inside the Twin Towers on the morning of 9-11? Try and then execute this self-admitted terrorist mastermind. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-17 19:13 |
| #4 There is a world of difference between someone who puts on the uniform of his country and someone who runs around commiting war crimes as a hobby. Not in the Left's minds. But they support our troops. And don't question their patriotism |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-17 12:15 |
| #3 he was an "enemy combatant" Someone correct me if needed, but isn't the exact phrase "unlawful enemy combatant"? This shortened version is going to be used over and over in the media until it becomes a synonym for "soldier". There is a world of difference between someone who puts on the uniform of his country and someone who runs around commiting war crimes as a hobby. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-03-17 12:11 |
| #2 Daniel Pearl's family and friends do not believe Mr. Mohammed was his murderer. link |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-03-17 11:56 |
| #1 Gag him, stand him against a wall and execute him Military style, be done with this loudmouth braggart/Murderer, the confession's enough. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-03-17 11:33 |