When planes flew into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on September 11 2001, it was the culmination of cunning plans by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, allegedly al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s operational director.
But Mohammed’s lust for terror did not die along with the thousands who perished in New York City. He also orchestrated the Bali nightclub bombing, and planned to place show bombs on two American planes. He plotted the assassination of former United States leaders who are still alive, and wanted to launch attacks against bridges in New York and landmarks in London.
This confession of cold-blooded mayhem and murder was released by the Pentagon in the past week. Mohammed confessed to a military tribunal at the United States’s oft-criticised Guantánamo Bay holding facility, behind closed doors, the Pentagon said.
But, as Mail & Guardian Online readers have pointed out in emailed letters this week, the US’s track record of detaining terror suspects at Guantánamo Bay is by no means untainted. According to the New York Times, Mohammed was subjected to torture approved by the US Justice Department and the CIA. So, how much faith can one put in his confession?
On the one hand, if he is indeed the terror mastermind as reported by the Pentagon, the US has saved countless lives in detaining him. On the other, as the American nation’s trust in President George Bush and his war on terror slides, a confession of this magnitude may just boost the US leader’s rankings and his defiance of Democratic opposition.
Unfortunately, until the US becomes more accountable for and less secretive about its activities at Guantánamo Bay, Mohammed’s confession will not be taken as seriously as, perhaps, it should be.
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March 15 to 21
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged number three in al-Qaeda, confessed to planning the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11 2001, in front of the secret military tribunals being held for the top detainees in Guantánamo, the Pentagon said on Wednesday night.
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