Pentagon: Terror Boss Confesses

Statement Read At Military Trial Quotes Him Claiming Responsibility "From A To Z"

(CBS/AP)  The Pentagon has released a transcript of a military trial at Guantanamo Bay which says that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, has confessed to a leadership role in that attack and a string of others.

"I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," Mohammed is quoted as saying in a statement that was read Saturday at a session of his military trial.

According to the transcript, Mohammed claimed responsibility for planning, financing, and training others for bombings ranging from the 1993 attack at the World Trade Center to the attempt by would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes.

In all, Mohammed is quoted as saying that he was responsible for planning 28 individual attacks, including many that were never executed. The comments are in a 26-page transcript released by the Pentagon, which blacked out some of his remarks.

"This so-called confession probably dooms him to a future death sentence," says CBS News legal consultant Andrew Cohen. "There are some close cases down there, some false charges, but this isn't one of them. It's only if he somehow makes it into federal court that his statements could be successfully challenged."

The Pentagon also released transcripts of the hearings of Abu Faraj al-Libi and Ramzi Binalshibh, although Binalshibh refused to attend his hearing.

Binalshibh, a Yemeni, is suspected of helping Mohammed with the Sept. 11, 2001, attack plan and has also been linked by authorities to a foiled plot to crash aircraft into London's Heathrow Airport.

Al-Libi is a Libyan who is suspected of masterminding two bombings, 11 days apart in Pakistan in December 2003, each targeting President Pervez Musharraf for his support of the U.S.-led war on terror.

The hearings, which began last Friday, are being conducted in secret by the military as it tries to determine whether 14 alleged terrorist leaders should be declared “enemy combatants” who can be held indefinitely and prosecuted by military tribunals.

Hearings for six of the 14 have already been held. The military is not allowing reporters to attend the sessions and is limiting the information it provides about them, arguing that it wants to prevent sensitive information from being disclosed.

The 14 were moved in September from a secret CIA prison network to the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, where about 385 men are being held on suspicion of links to al Qaeda or the Taliban.

Mohammed's confession was read by a member of the U.S. military who is serving as his personal representative. It also claims he shared responsibility for three other attacks, including assassination attempts against Pope John Paul II and Musharraf.

The transcripts also lay out evidence against Mohammed, saying that a computer seized during his capture included detailed information about the Sept. 11 plot — ranging from names and photos of the hijackers to photos of hijacker Mohammad Atta's pilot's license and even letters from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Al-Libi also made a statement through his personal representative largely claiming that the hearing process is unfair and that he will not attend unless it is corrected.

"The detainee is in a lose-lose situation," his statement said.

Binalshibh declined to participate in the process and the hearing was conducted in his absence. Military officials expected some of the 14 suspects not to participate.

Legal experts have criticized the U.S. decision to bar independent observers from the hearings of the detainees who the government describes as "high-value targets." The Associated Press filed a letter of protest, arguing that it would be "an unconstitutional mistake to close the proceedings in their entirety."

Mark Denbeaux, a Seton Hall University law professor who represents two Tunisians held at Guantanamo, said that based on the transcripts, Mohammed might be the only detainee who would qualify as an enemy combatant.

"The government has finally brought someone into Gitmo who apparently admits to being someone who could be called an enemy combatant," Denbeaux, a critic of most of the detentions, said in a telephone interview from London. "None of the others rise to this level. The government has now got one."

The military held 558 combatant status review tribunals between July 2004 and March 2005 and the panels concluded that all but 38 detainees were enemy combatants who should be held. Those 38 were eventually released from Guantanamo.

[bodiddle49]

Did he also admit to being Anna's babys father? I wonder how much torture it took to get a confession. I believe he is a threat to the United States but was denied our basic rights. I don't like our new system of justice. Our old one was good enough for 200 years.

[karlimhof]

I thought OBL was the mastermind of 911 ?

Does this mean OBL is finally forgotton by the Bush - as bush has already told us?

Jebby_One wrote:

"it seems that CBS is more interested in getting Bush than in getting Bin Laden."

Maybe that's because GW Bush just isn't interested in getting Bin Laden.

To quote GW Bush (Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002):

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."

He is a traitor to the very people he pretends to defend.

Americans.

[tuckerndfw]

If he confessed, why isn't he being tried in a New York courtroom?

What is the point of designating him an "enemy combatant" if he admitted to conspiracy to commit murder?

This is just more of the same lies and bullsh*t from the most corrupt administration in US history.

[j0hnwi11iams]

This is justice?

[emhawks]

To libsarenuts: Sorry to disappoint, but I don't do drugs & I'm not off the deep end yet. I'm a Mom to (3) teenage/20'ish kids & have worked as an RN for (33)yrs. I'm also not a conspiracy theorist, but a concern citizen. There are many thousands of ordinary, concern Americans who are questioning the official version of 9/11. The more I learn not only about 9/11, but the corruption in our government & the military, the more it appears that conspiracy is the rule, not the exception.
Webster's dictionary defines conspiracy/conspire as:
To join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful/wrongful act or an act which becomes unlawful as a result of the secret agreement.
FDR knew Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked but did nothing to prevent it in order to incite American outrage & get the US involved in WWII.
I believe very strongly that the 9/11 investigation should be reopened. There are too many unanswered questions. The more I learn about 9/11 (& observing the dismal & disgraceful tract record of Bush & Cheney over the past (7)yrs.) the more I believe the "Bush organization" either knew of the attacks in advance & did not stop them in order to advance their own agenda, or Bush & Cheney organized the attacks. Ask yourself who benefitted (esp. financially) from 9/11?

[jebby_one]

there were certainly more flattering pictures of Mr. Mohammed.

Apparently, though, CBS decided to use a picture that would make him seem a crazed or cazy person, and thus less believable. After all, CBS seems more focused on getting President Bush than in getting Osama Bin Laden.

It kind of fits in with how CBS never, ever, shows video where the camera dips below Hillary's waist. Until Fox came along I was wondering if she was just half a person.

[j0hnwi11iams]

He is also the zodiac killer.

Seriously.

[randalds]

You accuse me of twisting your words into a completely different meaning, to make it fit on a bumper sticker. I'm not sure I can take anything you write seriously, friend.
Posted by bsrasmus at 11:46 PM : Mar 14, 2007

My comments about you twisting my words into a bumper-sticker were spot on as anyone could see, yet you use them to hide under and as poor poor poor excuse. Obviously you either don't want a serious discussion or feel you are over-matched. Either way I withdraw and leave you the field. You "win".

[j-whitman]

I'm calling it a night, see ya... Plenty of news tomorrow.