Liberty Maven

To very little public fanfare from my beloved American media, a Mockery of a Trial of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, alleged al-Qaeda mastermind, is getting underway in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Is John McCain losing any sleep over it? Doubt it.

by Jake, the Champion of the Constitution

Originally published September 2, 2008 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article4690.html

Senator John McCain and Khaled Sheikh Mohammed actually share one very important fact in common.

Both have been held as prisoners for the same term, 5-and-a-half years, and have been subjected to hideous amounts of torture.

After a self-professed suicide attempt, McCain survived the ordeal, returned home to his first wife and family, and has gone on to be a US Senator or Congressman for over 25 years, and has a chance to become POTUS this September. However, if McCain’s mind is sane, he would probably see at least a moral similarity to how he as an American POW was treated by the North Vietnamese after dropping bombs on them, and how a captured terrorist/enemy combatant was treated by at the hands of his American government for bombing the WTC. However, after not having batted an eyelid to assist fellow US citizen Jose Padilla when he was tortured for a terrorist/enemy combatant crime that he was never even tried for, I am sure McBama will stay quiet on the human rights violations committed on Khaled Sheikh Mohammed (or KSM as the US government refers to him in dehumanizing fashion in the 9/11 Commission Report).

While I do not wish to spare much time on Mr. Mohammed’s guilt and alleged heinous crimes, anyone who has ever read the 9/11 Commission Report from pages 145-169 would agree that the United States infers it has enough evidence to drown him in a sea of it, I do wish to spend time discussing the severely biased (and don’t forget mostly silent!) media report and on the trial so far.  Forgive me if I sound a little shrill in this piece, But do I live in a land where people are presumed innocent until proven guilty or not? Or is this just meaningless lip service?

Read these two sources, an August 15 Financial Times article on the June 5 arraignment court hearing from Mr. Demetri Sevastopulo, and its analysis and rebuttal here from Professor James Petras.  I am not sure why it took roughly 40 days for the Financial Times to publish the article, and if anyone has further details on the trial, please leave a note below.

The True “Face of 9/11″

Sevastopulo titled his article “The Face of 9/11″ and indeed perhaps Mr. Mohammed is from his point of view, if you want to neglect a certain Osama Bin Laden, who is apparently still enjoying his freedom seven years after 9/11 by skipping jump rope, eating caviar and dates, and filming anti-American home videos in his spare time. Surely everyone remembers that picture of a groggy, half-asleep Mr. Mohammed looking like a hairy, flabby ape during his 4 AM arrest which remains one of the mostly highly propagandized photos of the War on Terror. As George Tenet, the former CIA director, later admitted: “It sent a message more eloquently than a thousand words ever could that the life of a terrorist on the run is anything but glamorous.” Sevastopulo then describes at length how Mohammed wanted his court sketch edited so his nose was portrayed correctly, while using selected quotes that infer his guilt.

I have a few rebuttals. The first is, what would ex-CIA Director George Tenet look like at 4 AM? What do YOU look like at 4 AM? Usually not so pretty, eh?

My second rebuttal echoes Professor Petras’s concerns. Sevastopulo made the facial appearance and alleged vanity of Mr. Mohammed as the centerpiece of his article. How unprofessional. Actually, it sounds like a fairly minor detail of the proceedings, Mohammed probably just wanted his wives and children to see his face for the first time in over 5 years. What was more telling were the following quotes buried in the article:

“I knew he wouldn’t look like the guy in the T-shirt, but I didn’t think he would look like the guy in the T-shirt’s grandfather,” said Carol Rosenberg, a Miami Herald reporter.

“I was somewhat shocked to see he was so old-looking and so small … he was pint-sized but with that huge beard, it was really strange,” said Edward MacMahon, a civilian lawyer.

“There was no denying that Mohammed looked much older than his 43 years, as if decades had elapsed since the infamous picture of him taken before he disappeared into the netherworld of the CIA’s so-called “black sites”. Where the earlier picture suggested a startled but solid, paunchy figure, the Mohammed who sat in court seemed to have shrunk into a smaller, thinner frame. He wore a flowing white tunic, a skullcap, and thick black-rimmed glasses that lent him a professorial air,” wrote Sevastopulo.

“Inmates at Guantanamo have their prescription glasses exchanged for glasses with an elastic strap, rather like swimming goggles. KSM had a thick beard and was wearing a pair of these goggles… But still, it was the strangest and most difficult day of my working life. I had been in New York City on the day the Twin Towers were hit. Because I had had personal experience of September 11, it was disturbing, and unpleasantly intimate, to see the man said to be behind the attacks touching one of my drawings. I still haven’t worked out to this day what drove him to take such an interest. Could he really have been that vain?” said Janet Hamlin, a court sketch artist.

Sevastopulo’s opening lines were “Khaled Sheikh Mohammed was happy to die. But on June 5 the day the self-confessed mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the US resurfaced after five years in the CIA’s shadowy network of secret prisons.” He repeatedly refers to Mohammed as the “self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11,” etc.

Rebuttal: How can Sevastopulo have any clue whether Mr. Mohammed was happy or not? Judging by the rest of the article, “prepared to die” was probably more apt. Second, “self-confessed mastermind?” Please! Later in the article, it is revealed that the CIA has admitted that his confession was extracted by waterboarding, which, if you do not know the details, is an interrogation technique that involves strapping the prisoner down on a reverse incline, covering his face with a cloth and pouring water into his mouth and nose, which is literally drowning someone. Sorry, CIA, pick me up and toss me in your secret prisons, because any unbiased observer of another human being drowning another might not call it simulated drowning, but instead call it attempted murder.  Would it be possible that I would say anything to get you to stop?  The CIA source (I say torturer) also noted that Mohammed managed to hold out longer than the others, in one case enduring the waterboarding for 90 seconds. I wonder how Michael Phelps would do, he’d probably get the gold. The CIA source also admitted that prior to his arrest, the CIA actually knew very little about Mr. Mohammed, and when Mr. Mohammed realized this he asked them “Don’t you people ever talk to each other?” If the crux of the case against Mr. Mohammed rests only on his “self-confession” induced by torture as Professor Petras’s article claims, it will be interesting to see how they obtain a guilty verdict.

I allege perhaps the true “faces of 9/11″ are our nation’s leaders like John McCain, the Barackcuda, Dick Cheney and George W Bush who have been far less than vigorous in protecting civil rights and condemning torture. The military body has followed these talking heads blindly.

Does this trial sound even remotely fair?

Mohammed has “confessed to masterminding” not only with the 9/11 WTC attack, but also with the Richard Reid shoe bomb plot (think of all of the millions of shoes checked since), the Bali nightclub bombing, the 1993 WTC Bombing, other failed attacks, and personally beheading Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal in 2002. One busy guy. If it can be proved within a reasonable doubt that he did any of these, Mr. Mohammed deserves to lose his freedom. The death penalty is (of course!) being sought, although I do not condone capital punishment, which is really legalized murder, just committed by a nation-state.

Sevastopulo writes “the soundproofed gallery [was] separated from the main courtroom by a glass partition. We were told that an audio feed would be piped into the gallery, but with a 20-second delay so that the judge could prevent us hearing classified information, either from lawyers or detainees. Since our voices would not carry into the courtroom, there was no need to sit still and stay quiet. Reporters and observers began to jockey for position, standing close to the glass and gawping at the defendants in the court, its smart, custom-made furniture and computer system a far cry from the rest of Guantnamo.” Reporters were allowed to take no photographs of either the court building or the trial.

Mr. Mohammed is being tried before a military commission, presided over by Colonel Ralph Kohlmann. Sevastopulo: “This was a big day for both the prisoners and the Bush administration. Mohammed and his four co-defendants were to be arraigned: they would hear the charges against them, be informed of their rights and have the chance to enter a plea. The Pentagon hoped the high-profile commission would refute criticism that the first US war crimes trials since [WWII] were nothing more than kangaroo courts designed to guarantee convictions.” My comment is simple. If we truly live in a free country, we will see President George W Bush stand trial for murder. And kangaroo court needs to be defined, if it is being captured by the US military and then put on trial for your life with the judges deciding on your innocence or guilt being also from the US military, and the only legal counsel freely offered is also military lawyer, then yes, I say this is indeed a kangaroo court.

Mr. Mohammed and the other four (4) co-defendants have amazingly never been allowed to see or speak with each other since their capture. For the first time in over 5 years, they chatted freely. Mr. Mohammed was overheard as remarking to a not-quite-so-emaciated Mr. Bin al-Shibh, “No wonder I don’t get enough food” because “you must be in the cell next to me.” After the Colonel-judge explained that the accused were entitled to free representation by military lawyers, Mr. Mohammed suddenly interrupted by reciting the Koran. “God is all-sufficient. My guardian is God … He is the guardian of the righteous.” When the Colonel-judge tried to continue, Mohammed paused. “Go ahead.” Sevastopulo writes that the entire press gallery erupted in laughter. Great to hear the press is enjoying their jobs. Then Mohammed said, “I do not mention the torturing, I know this is a red line.” Sevastopulo remarks “it was strange that the judge allowed these words to reach us in the press gallery. Why hadn’t he hit the switch and cut off the sound at the mention of torture?” Pardon me, Mr. Sevastopulo, but why do you suggest that the truth be avoided?

Sevastopulo goes on to write:

“As well as their free military counsel, the defendants were entitled to appoint civilian lawyers at their own expense (Mohammed had two, whose fees were paid by the American Civil Liberties Union), but the process is complicated by the fact that civilians must obtain security clearance because of the quantity of classified information involved in the cases”

“It was ridiculous what happened because none of the lawyers were ready for their clients to start answering questions about who they wanted for their lawyer,” said Major Jon Jackson, an Army lawyer representing one of the accused

Commander Suzanne Lachelier, the Navy lawyer representing Mr. Bin al-Shibh, argued for a delay because she had only found out the night before that her client was taking psychotropic drugs that might impair his judgment. “What part of ‘No’ don’t you understand?” was the judge’s response to her plea. Several weeks later, recalling the exchange, Lachelier described it as “crushing.” “It showed a lack of desire to make this fair. It was purely let’s go through this script, let’s go through the motions,” she said. “I did start wondering whether I was just going to be a tool in their scheme.”

Wow, their torturers get to change into their lawyers for free? Were these men allowed to work for wages in between torture sessions for the past 5-6 years? Or is the court betting that Osama Bin Laden will send each of them a big fat check to pay a few lawyers?

However, the point is mostly moot. All of the defendants have refused legal counsel and will represent themselves in court. This is their way of not recognizing the authority of the US military court over their freedom. I have to agree with their approach. When your judge, jury, captor, torturer, and executioner are all from the same opposing military force, it is no wonder that Mohammed and his group believe they are damned to die from the very beginning, regardless of whether or not they committed the crime.  Too much is at stake politically for them to walk away alive.

What did the other four defendants have to say?

“I do understand that I will be killed for the sake of God,” Mr. Bin al-Shibh said, “but I don’t understand that I am guilty.”

“I am here after five years of torture This government … tortured me free of charge for all these years … If the government had given me a lawyer on the first day I was arrested, I would have appreciated that,” said Mr. al-Baluchi. When the Colonel-judge cautioned him that it was “unwise” to represent himself, Mr. al-Baluchi shot back, “For me, the proceeding itself is unwise.”

Mr. Sevastopulo notes that Mr. Hawsawi’s “demeanour at the back of the court suggested he was suffering mental or physical problems.”  No further details provided, but how would YOU be behaving after 5 years of solitary confinement?

To close this mockery of justice, Mr. Bin’Attash had the last word, “Will [we] be buried in Guantnamo, or will our bodies be sent back to our countries?” Looks like five more martyrs will be slain by the end of the year, why bother with the trial?

In Closing

I quote Professor Petras, “Confessions extracted from torture, have no validity in any court, especially after 5 years of solitary confinement. What the Financial Times calls “the super terrorist” based on his stated “desire for martyrdom” is the admission of an individual who has suffered beyond human endurance and looks to death to end his horrible sub-human existence. The Financial Times’ embrace of the CIA and military’s coerced evidence and therefore their use of torture, puts them squarely in the camp of the totalitarian state The Financial Times by legitimizing torture has opened the door to making totalitarian judicial practices, arbitrary arrests, secret prisons, prolonged solitary confinement, torture, show trials and cover-up feature stories part of normal Western political life.”

Is the use of torture a commonly accepted American value? If so, then I too must reject America. John McCain, at least, should know better but perhaps his mind has been damaged too much by torture, he is shown here allegedly hugging his torturers in glee, many years later.

Why am I (sort of) defending a bunch of terrorists? Well, why are you not defending justice and the rule of law?

For Liberty!

Jake, the Champion of the Constitution

www.CampaignForLiberty.com

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The “Happy Coronation, John McCain!” Series

RETRACTION - John McCain Crashed Five Warplanes, Not Three
Published: September 1, 2008
Dear John McCain, Here is my gift to you on the Eve of your Republican Party Coronation. Signed, the Revolution

John McCain and Barack Obama - Can They Even BE President?
Published: September 1, 2008
Are Senators John McCain and Barack Obama Both Constitutionally Ineligible to be President?

Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty Leaves 34 Americans Dead, 173 Wounded. John McCain, Jr. Led the Cover-Up
Published: August 31, 2008
A 40-Year Overdue Headline. Israel deliberately attempted to destroy the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967. John McCain’s father hushed it up. Was it also the day America almost nuked Egypt? Read and decide for yourself.

My Father’s Vietnam is My Iraq - Disturbing Parallels
Published: May 2, 2008
Maybe 9/11 didn’t REALLY “Change Everything.” An Analogy between the Vietnam and Iraq Wars, topped off by a John McCain expose

US Military Draft Creeps Closer - Ron Paul and I Defy Senators “Barackcuda” Obama and “Just-Bomb-It” McCain
Published: July 21, 2008
Gaze ye at the Face of Evil and know it for what it truly is. America, Have No Fear.

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The “Deep Fry The Barackcuda” Series (yes I know many are the same, I have a hard time separating them)

Utter Chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan as Barack Obama Sanctions Preemptive War
Published: July 20, 2008
or “What? There’s a War there too?” War Deaths Ratchet Up as Barack Obama and the Neocons Continue to Ignore Geopolitical and Cultural Realities

US Military Draft Creeps Closer - Ron Paul and I Defy Senators “Barackcuda” Obama and “Just-Bomb-It” McCain
Published: July 21, 2008
Gaze ye at the Face of Evil and know it for what it truly is. America, Have No Fear.

John McCain and Barack Obama - Can They Even BE President?
Published: September 1, 2008
Are Senators John McCain and Barack Obama Both Constitutionally Ineligible to be President?

BREAKING NEWS!! The Democrats have joined the NeoCons! War with Iran it is!
Published: July 17, 2008
Okay, the Truth is not exactly Breaking News but read House Concurrent Resolution 362 anyways. The March Towards Hell Continues.

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Other Recommended Sources [Reach the Author Here!]

“Are Our Highest Officials Guilty of Torture?” by Massachusetts School of Law Professor Lawrence R. Velvel and others. (2006)

“Taxi to the Dark Side.“  78-min Movie on American Torture. (2008)

America, Were Michael Phelps’ Eight Olympic Gold Medals Worth Winning?
Published: August 24, 2008
Michael Phelps and other American athletes are bringing back loads of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals from the Beijing Olympics. A young libertarian economist asks if it was worth it.

Ron Paul and the Struggles of Attrition
Published: August 17, 2008
My comment on Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty after reading David Nolan’s and Walt Thiessen’s recent Bob Barr pieces.

Book Synopsis: The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi
Published: July 29, 2008
Vincent Bugliosi’s book is a reason for every libertarian to take heart. Perhaps Might does not make Right after all?

WARGATE: Rumsfeld Calls for “Another Attack” of Terror to Bolster Support for Bush
Published: May 17, 2008
Breaking News! Read and Listen here at the dod.mil link. Give a Thumbs up if you think Donald Rumsfeld is “waaaay off the record,” I mean way out of line!

We the People versus the Might of the US Government
Published: March 2, 2008
What do the experiences of SAS trooper Ben Griffin, Hope Steffey, and Jose Padilla all have in common? They show the Might of Government is overwhelming Right. We the People want Justice!