By Brigitte L. Nacos
Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM) was the operational chief of Al
Qaeda and the key figure in the planning of the 9/11 attacks as well as dozens
of other horrific terrorist strikes. This ruthless architect of major terrorist
acts that killed many thousands of innocent men, women, and children must be
held accountable for his unspeakable deeds. Captured four years ago (March 2003)
in Pakistan,
KSM has been interrogated, tortured, and pumped for information by American and
perhaps foreign interrogators for years. The administration has justified “aggressive
interrogation” methods, including so-called water boarding, by claiming that captured
terrorists like KSM had provided valuable information that prevented further
terrorist incidents and helped otherwise in the war on terrorism. For years,
information about Khalid’s involvement in Al Qaeda’s violent activities was
leaked bit by bit. In other words, not all that much about KSM was terribly
new. Yet, the administration’s revelation that Khalid claimed responsibility
for the 9/11
attacks, the 1993 strike against the World Trade Center, and a list of
other acts of terrorism before a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay became
instantly the dominant news on Wednesday. This morning, it was stunning to hear
network TV-anchors talk about KSM’s “stunning” confession of his 9/11 role—as
if they never heard about KSM spilling the beans on his past as Al Qaeda’s
chief of operations and his key role in the 9/11 attacks. By releasing a partial
transcript of Khalid’s Combatant Status Review Tribunal Hearing four days after
the session was held last Saturday, the otherwise less forthcoming
administration fed the media beast with “news” that the White House must have welcomed
far more than headlines about its mounting problems and scandals—from critical
Iraq war debates (see, for example, No
Quarter) to the Walter Reed Hospital revelations and the transgressions of Attorney-General
Gonzales.
It is far from clear to what extent the items on the laundry
list of Khalid’s terrorist past, read by his “Personal Representative” during
the hearing, are a full reflection of reality or in part the result of
“aggressive interrogation.” KSM let the tribunal members know that his
confessional statements were not made under duress. But after four years of
interrogations, first in undisclosed facilities and later in
Guantanamo, the detainee may have wondered
about future treatment, if he had not confessed to 29 specific terrorist acts
whether they were carried out or not. There is, for example, his admission that
he was “responsible for surveying and financing for the assassination of
several former American Presidents, including President Carter.” What was Al
Qaeda’s grudge against Jimmy Carter who may have lost reelection in 1980
because he was perceived as soft on terrorists during the 444 days of the Iran hostage
ordeal? And it was certainly not on Carter’s watch but rather during Ronald
Reagan’s presidency, when the CIA’s support for the Muslim freedom fighters
against the Soviet army in
Afghanistan began. In other words, it is rather strange that ex-president Carter is
mentioned but neither Ronald Reagan nor George H. Walker Bush. That Bill
Clinton was according to Khalid on his assassination list made sense from Al
Qaeda’s perspective, since Clinton was president, when Al Qaeda began its
anti-American campaign of terror, and ordered missile strikes against the
organization’s training camps in Afghanistan.
In short, questions arise with respect to the timing
of the transcript release (and perhaps the tribunal's hearing) and the content of Khalid’s laundry list of terrorist
deeds and planned actions.
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