KSM and Other Terror Suspects Arraigned
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arraigned today in a case that will apparently culminate in a public trial. Jan Crawford Greenburg and Dennis Powell report:
Dressed all in white with large glasses and a long gray beard, the man who imagined the unimaginable appeared at his arraignment today for his role as the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, making his first public appearance since he was captured in 2003, was asked by the military judge if he understood that the charges against him could bring the death penalty. Mohammed responded, “That is what I wish. I wish to be martyred” and, he added, “I understand very well.”
Meanwhile, Greenburg has a post at her blog that is, I think, much more personal, direct, and interesting. I found this part fascinating:
It is believed to be the first time the five al-Qaeda suspects have seen each other or spent time together since their capture, and they laughed and gestured at each other at times.
Of the five, only Ramzi Bin al-Shibh was wearing shackles and chained to the floor at his seat. He is the Yemeni who allegedly was supposed to have been a hijacker, but was denied a US visa. In court, he was the most defiant and robust. When the prosecutor announced the charges against him, he turned to the press assembled in the back of the courtroom and smiled broadly and pointed to himself.
I have seen this behavior in criminal courts before: murder defendants laughing it up as a verdict is read that will imprison them for the rest of their lives. Grinning at me and at the victim’s family members.
It’s shocking to see. But it’s just the behavior of gang members.
In some ways, these guys aren’t anything special. They’re garden variety thugs. A public trial may help demystify them.
At the same time, it’s dangerous to underestimate them. Street-level gang members can’t get access to nuclear weapons. Can Al Qaeda? We don’t know, but it’s not impossible.
I’ll say this: I’m very pleased to see Jan Crawford Greenburg covering this. I actually feel like I’ll be getting coverage I can trust.
“I have seen this behavior in criminal courts before: murder defendants laughing it up as a verdict is read that will imprison them for the rest of their lives. Grinning at me and at the victim’s family members.”
I remember the complete zoo that Wesley Cook aka Mumia abu Jamal turned his trial into under the guise of being a “political dissident”. Made for great fodder for his mentally disabled fans to argue “unfair trial!”.
Apparently KSM didn’t like the way the court sketch artist made his nose too broad.
Jack Klompus (b796b4) — 6/5/2008 @ 6:17 pmIt is believed to be the first time the five al-Qaeda suspects have seen each other or spent time together since their capture..
I hope that’s the case. They seemed to embrace a unified strategy and play to Arab public opinion, promoting their image and legacy. The 9/11 survivors’ relatives deserve more than sociopaths burnishing their street cred en route to a foregone conclusion.
steve (25d406) — 6/5/2008 @ 6:46 pmIt was troubling to me to hear on the PBS report tonight that the legal observers and reporters are in a separate room from the court and are being shown the trial on a video feed with a 20 second delay. The judge apparently explained there was a security officer with his finger on the button. It was used twice today, once to blank out the feed (audio and video) when one of the defendants started to talk about torture, and again when another started to talk about psychotropic drugs. As to the latter, it was supposedly explained that the cut-off was necessary so as to not violate his HIPAA rights. I thought that was sort of funny under the circumstances, actually.
Peccator Dubius (0a6237) — 6/5/2008 @ 6:47 pmIt was used twice today, once to blank out the feed (audio and video) when one of the defendants started to talk about torture
Peccator – National security continues to be troubling to many people I guess.
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 6/5/2008 @ 7:51 pmTwo points not brought out very clearly in the ABC reports, which I heard from the CBS News report:
kishnevi (e9a2a0) — 6/5/2008 @ 8:36 pm1) All five rejected lawyers, not just KSM.
2) KSM was said to be using hand signals which were apparently a way of giving orders/directions to the other four. The CBS report implied that the five didn’t talk to each other, which is contradicted by Greenburg’s post.
CBS also mentioned the objection to the sketch, and did so in a tone that didn’t reflect very well on KSM.
Daleyrocks–national security is fine and good, but the fact that anything less than total transparency in these proceedings (specifically meaning, the KSM hearings/trial) works out as a propaganda boost for the jihadis ought to trump that.
kishnevi (e9a2a0) — 6/5/2008 @ 8:40 pmDaleyRocks: “National security continues to be troubling to many people I guess.”
I have no problem with national security, when that’s really at issue, but here is it national security or just politics; that’s the question.
Looks more like politics to me, especially when these trials are apparently being fast-tracked to get them done before the election.
As keshnevi points out, we need to have fair trials, not kangaroo courts, and there has been a lot of criticism from military lawyers that there’s been political interference in the judicial process. Troubles me, but not you I guess.
Don’t get me wrong. KSM is a bad guy and deserves to die (I don’t have any opinion on the other four not really knowing anything about them), but our founding principles require fair trials for even the worst – Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, KSM. We don’t do show trials like the Russians did. We’re Americans.
Peccator Dubius (0a6237) — 6/5/2008 @ 9:50 pmBut, remember; these are Military Tribunals, which have their own proceedures and protocals, even different than Courts Martials under the UCMJ.
Another Drew (8018ee) — 6/5/2008 @ 10:13 pmI was amused that the ACLU rep was trying to figure out some way to force the five to have atty’s (from them, no doubt) – just couldn’t comprehend why any defendant would undergo a trial without an atty.
Can’t have a good Tribunal without obstruction from a dedicated ACLU type.
anything less than total transparency in these proceedings (specifically meaning, the KSM hearings/trial) works out as a propaganda boost for the jihadis ought to trump that.
Comment by kishnevi — 6/5/2008 @ 8:40 pm
Kishnevi – The anything less than total transparency standard was what the NY Times was clinging to when it divulged national security secrets too, wasn’t it? Those articles were victories for the jihadis as I recall.
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 6/5/2008 @ 11:06 pmLooks more like politics to me, especially when these trials are apparently being fast-tracked to get them done before the election.
Peccator – Ah, the old you question the timing question. What evidence to you have that these tribunals are FINALLY being squeezed in before the elections as opposed to say before the end of Bush’s term or being rushed at all?
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 6/5/2008 @ 11:08 pmThey’re terrorists that want to destroy our way off live and kill as many of us as they can.
madmax333 (4375f7) — 6/6/2008 @ 4:08 amDrop them out of planes at high altitude without a chute and let Allah save them. Praise be to Allah. Actually why make matryrs out of them by icing their worthless souls? Well, at least we know that some terrorist-enabling potus or world court will set them free. How many vicious Hezzbollah and Hamas mutants has Israel released in exchanges such as 1000 pukes for one Israeli soldier?
At least make KSM’s life a living hell. Let him eat pork or starve, etc. If the big honchos really embrace the culture of death, why are they hiding in caves? Fair trials, my asp. Terrorists deserve no considerations or avail to our citizens’ Bill of Rights.
If Khalid Sheikh Muhammad wanted to be a martyr for the cause, why didn’t he fight to the death rather than being captured alive?
Dana R Pico (3e4784) — 6/6/2008 @ 5:04 amI question the timing ? Isn’t that the standard Leftist response to practically anything?
JD (75f5c3) — 6/6/2008 @ 5:36 amI question the timing of your question, JD.
nk (be56c0) — 6/6/2008 @ 5:47 amI question the timing of your questioning of his timing…
Scott Jacobs (fa5e57) — 6/6/2008 @ 6:19 am13 – 15 : but you should all be admired for “speaking truth to power”.
Jack Klompus (b796b4) — 6/6/2008 @ 6:32 amI question the timing of your speaking TWOOTH TO POWER ! Has there ever been a more inane saying? That ranks up there with fingernails on a chalkboard, the word irregardless, midgets, clowns, and basketball announcers that say “score the ball”.
JD (75f5c3) — 6/6/2008 @ 7:12 amI’m a fan of “Nobody Died When Clinton Lied.” Although on any given day in this town I can depend on seeing a car that has a good ten to fifteen new retarded slogans that I haven’t heard before pasted on the back of it.
Jack Klompus (b796b4) — 6/6/2008 @ 7:21 amLet’s see, KSM has been in custody five years and now his trial is being “fast-tracked?” Makes sense to me.
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 6/6/2008 @ 7:25 amDidn’t Bill Maher say that the 911 highjackers were courageous? Why even bother to punish the likes of KSM? Show compassion and free him to prove to the jihad that we are very compassionate people and wish them no harm. The first Arab POTUS Urkel would set a new peace-loving path to diplomacy and take us away from the vicious Muslim slaughtering years of the evil BusHitler.
madmax333 (68af0e) — 6/6/2008 @ 7:26 amLet he who is without sin cast the first stone. We merely have a few religious differences that can be ironed out. We have been guilty of miscontruing their culture. My liberal friends even told me that any changes to Muslim dogma or ways of life must be settled BY them. It’s all a cultural thing. If Muslim women, for example, don’t like the culture, it is up to them to change it. Allahu Akhbar!
Obviously a GOP plot to rush to judgement. Clever Rovian tactic. In fact KSM doesn’t exist. It’s a janitor from the Department of Commerce with a fake beard pasted on.
Jack Klompus (b796b4) — 6/6/2008 @ 7:28 amDaley Rocks, on the fast-tracking, you need to read a little more. You can disagree with the conclusion, or even argue that it’s the right thing to do, but let’s have some facts, not just your opinion. The courtroom isn’t even finished, the defendants have had little time to meet with their lawyers or do discovery. There’s lots out there about these allegations. For example:
* Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 – By Carol Rosenberg | Miami Herald – “Ex Guantanamo prosecutor says terror trials were rushed – [Air Force Col. Morris Davis] A former chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, testified on Monday that the Pentagon rushed to bring some of the accused terrorists to trial so that the process would be under way before President Bush leaves office.”
* Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 – By Carol Rosenberg | Miami Herald – “Is Pentagon pushing for 9/11 trial during presidential campaign? – Defense lawyers for the alleged 9/11 conspirators on Thursday accused the Pentagon prosecutor of rushing to begin the complex Sept. 11, 2001, mass murder trial in the height of the presidential campaign season.”
Peccator Dubius (0a6237) — 6/6/2008 @ 8:51 amMadmax333 – Fair trials, my asp. Terrorists deserve no considerations or avail to our citizens’ Bill of Rights.
Since Magna Carta, this is the kind of thinking that Anglo-American legal and political philosophy has worked to defeat. If we adopt the same mindset of the terrorists, we lose the very principles that make us great and an example to the world.
I agree that non-citizens don’t have the rights of citizens, but that is not the same as saying that that fundamental rules of fairness and justice don’t apply. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Do you disagree with that statement?
Peccator Dubius (0a6237) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:05 amYes, it is indeed a rush since 9/11 was merely seven years ago. If the aclu deemed it appropriate, they’d claim it was not pursued in a timely fashion. One might hope these poor, misundestood Muslims could have actual lawyers of high caliber and high profile paid for by the taxpayers and that any negative judgements reflecting on the defendants be appealable to every court level until the defendants might die a natural death, if not freed before that time.
madmax333 (68af0e) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:10 amI know the NY Times/ACLU wants KSM to have access to all the govt. files and various witnesses even if it disrupts the waging of the war on terror.
There’s got to be a Pulitzer prize in here somewhere, eh? Perhaps Oliver Stone can even make a flick that glorifies the KSM persona?
“not just your opinion”
Peccator – Right, facts in your mind mean the OPINIONS of others. Check. I’ll have to remember that. Col. Morris has no axe to grind of course. Which one of the above citations are you now relying on Peccator? You said the trials were being fast-tracked to be completed before the elections and now you provide a citation which suggests a motive might, as I suggested, be to complete them before Bush’s term of office expires? Which story are you holding to?
Do you consider five years fast tracking?
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:14 amPeccator – I thought the left was up in arms over the delays in bringing prisoners to justice. Why now is there a reverse complaint?
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:17 amSorry Peccator Dubius…I aim for irony and sarcasm. Guess I should use a tag /
Still, screw them. Kill them all (terrorists) and let God or allah sort them out. They don’t respect the liberal coddling. Strike fear in their hearts. They are already shamed by losing every war waged against Israelis, even with sneak attacks. The surrender now/hate america first liberal moonbats only enable sharia and impending dhimmitude. Look at England, Sweden, Denmark and France to see how catering to Islam has wreaked havoc.
I’d be happy if the dude were just hanged in a public square or fed feet first into a wood chipper like terrorists regimes favor their own victims. Tell the mutants we will turn their abominable shit hole countries into rubble and actually seize those oil fields. Humiliate and shame jihadist scum instead of kissing their arses like Urkel and Carter desire.trdhameCover the frh seziea sheet of glass and seen st we vtimsomeyd
madmax333 (68af0e) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:18 amFirst it was wailing and gnashing of teeth over no trials. Now, it is wailing and gnashing of teeth over a 5-year rush to trial. Consistency is the hobgoblin of liars.
JD (75f5c3) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:25 amWhy should we care what the Euroweenies exalt or desire. Oh, dear, Obama shows Americans are truly seeking racial justice and harmony. So because someone asshat pol is 1/16 Black, we should just go along with a Jimmy Carter II disaster of a Marxist presidency? Talk about malaise and cluelessness. Look at how truly awful communism and socialism has been historically and still the left wants to make the US into that kind of deplorable senselessness. Urkel thinks increased rates of taxes on capital gains, for example, are worthy because it would be FAIR even though revenues would be lowered. Dipshits of the world unite. I already can see how an Obama would get the same enabling of corrupt behavior as Kwame Kilpatrick, William Jefferson and marion Barry have been in the past. Any criticism is racist and not helping Michelle to find affordable fresh fruit for her kids.
madmax333 (68af0e) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:26 amThere seems to be this set of enlightened standards that people believe Europe upholds and that America needs to get with the program and follow and tsk tsk to us until we do.
Jack Klompus (b796b4) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:43 amI’ve only been to Europe once but the impression that I got from Berlin was that white Germans sit around cafes all afternoon and watch with disdain as the Turks do the hard work. I’ve also gotten the impression that Europe has always loved black Americans as long as their names are John Coltrane or Miles Davis. When are those countries going to reconcile and position viable non-white candidates for their highest offices?
Egad…sorry for veering so far off topic.
Jack Klompus (b796b4) — 6/6/2008 @ 9:44 amCarol Rosenberg, is very dependably the recipient of every Gitmo detainee public relations press release. She used to be the Herald’s reporter on the West Bank, so it was good preparation for defending the indefensible. For instance, she had very little to say when the latest ‘innocent’ Gitmo detainee, Ali Salem Al Adji blew himself up in Mosul, last month. She dutifully relayed the attorney’s contention that he had a broken arm while at Gitmo, apparently, it hasn’t been an obstacle to arming the suicide vest.
narciso (d671ab) — 6/6/2008 @ 6:08 pm