Khalid Sheikh Mohammad got a hearing Saturday, thanks to the U.S. military's liberal reading of the Geneva Conventions. The conventions establish a procedure called an "Article 5" hearing, conducted by a military tribunal, to review whether someone captured on the battlefield is in fact an enemy combatant.
Such hearings are mandatory under the Geneva Conventions only if the combatant's status is in doubt, as KSM's surely was not. But in the 2004 case of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld the U.S. Supreme Court held that combatants with U.S. citizenship were entitled to Article 5 hearings, doubt or no doubt. Although the plaintiff in that case was the only Guantanamo detainee to hold U.S. citizenship, the military responded to Hamdi by extending Article 5 rights to all Guantanamo detainees. (The military calls its Article 5 panels Combatant Status Review Tribunals.)
KSM's hearing was originally supposed to be open to the press, but the Pentagon changed its policy to avoid the dissemination of classified information--much to this columnist's disappointment, as we had made inquiries to the Pentagon about covering it.
Yesterday, however, the military released a redacted transcript (PDF), and it makes for fascinating reading. There is one part of it everyone should read: the list of 31 actual or prospective attacks in which KSM acknowledged having been "a responsible participant, principal planner, trainer, financier . . ., executor, and/or a personal participant." Here it is, quoting verbatim from the transcript (pages 18-19):
1. I was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center Operation
2. I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation, from A to Z.
3. I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, [Wall Street Journal reporter] 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.
4. I was responsible for the Shoe Bomber Operation to down two American airplanes.
5. I was responsible for the Filka Island operation in Kuwait that killed two American soldiers.
6. I was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, which was frequented by British and American nationals.
7. I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing the New (or Second) Wave attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9/11:
a. Library Tower, California.
b. Sears Tower, Chicago,
c. Plaza Bank, Washington state.
d. The Empire State Building, New York City.
8. I was responsible for planning, financing, & follow-up of Operations to destroy American military vessels and oil tankers in the Straights of Hormuz, and Straights of Gibralter, and the Port of Singapore.
9. I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing for the Operation to bomb and destroy the Panama Canal.
10. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the assassination of several former American Presidents, including President Carter.
11. I was responsible for surveying, planning, and financing for the bombing of suspension bridges in New York.
12. I was responsible for planning to destroy the Sears Tower by burning a few fuel or oil tanker trucks beneath it or around it.
13. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the operation to destroy Heathrow Airport, the Canary Wharf Building, and Big Ben on British soil.
14. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of many night clubs frequented by American and British citizens on Thailand soil.
15. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the New York Stock Exchange and other financial targets after 9/11.
16. I was responsible for planning, financing, and surveying for the destruction of buildings in the Israeli city of Elat by using airplanes leaving from Saudi Arabia.
17. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of American embassies in Indonesia, Australia, and Japan.
18. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the Israeli embassy in India, Azerbaijan, the Philippines, and Australia.
19. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of an Israeli 'El-Al' Airlines flight on Thailand soil departing from Bangkok Airport.
20. I was responsible for sending several Mujahadeen into Israel to conduct surveillance to hit several strategic targets deep in Israel.
21. I was responsible for the bombing of the hotel in Mombasa that is frequented by Jewish travelers via El-Al airlines.
22. I was responsible for launching a Russian-made SA-7 surface-to-air missile on El-Al or other Jewish airliner departing from Mombasa.
23. I was responsible for planning and surveying to hit American targets in South Korea, such as American military bases and a few night clubs frequented by American soldiers.
24. I was responsible for financial, excuse me, I was responsible for providing financial support to hit American, Jewish, and British targets in Turkey.
25. I was responsible for surveillance needed to hit nuclear power plants that generate electricity in several U.S. states.
26. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing to hit NATO Headquarters in Europe.
27. I was responsible for the planning and surveying needed to execute the Bojinka Operation, which was designed to down twelve American airplanes full of passengers. I personally monitored a found-trip, Manila-to-Seoul, Pan Am flight.
28. I was responsible for the assassination attempt against President Clinton during his visit to the Philippines in 1994 or 1995. . . .
29. I shared responsibility for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul the second while he was visiting the Philippines.
30. I was responsible for the training and financing for the assassination of Pakistan's President Musharraf.
31. I was responsible for the attempt to destroy an American oil company owned by the Jewish former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, on the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia.
We suppose it is some comfort that many of these attacks never took place; al Qaeda's reach exceeds its grasp. But as we saw on 9/11, its grasp is bad enough.
Presumably the tribunal will find that KSM is indeed an enemy combatant, since he expressly acknowledged as much during the hearing. This means that he can be detained for the duration of al Qaeda's conflict with the U.S.
But President Bush indicated last September, when KSM and 13 other "high value" detainees were transferred to Guantanamo, that they would face trial for war crimes. It wouldn't surprise us if, after a trial, KSM ends up being put to death.
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