Mastermind Gitmo Detainees Say That 9/11 is a "Badge of Honor"

9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 9/11 coordinator Ramzi Binalshibh, financial backer Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, Mohammed’s number 1 Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, and USS Cole bomber Walid Bin Attash, filed a document with the court: "The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations."

The five detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have filed a document with the military commission at the United States naval base there expressing pride at their accomplishment and accepting full responsibility for the killing of nearly 3,000 people.

In their filing, the men describe the planning of the Sept. 11 attacks and the killing of Americans as a model of Islamic action, and say the American government’s accusations cause them no shame, according to the excerpts read by the government official.

“To us,” the official continued reading, “they are not accusations. To us they are a badge of honor, which we carry with honor.”

The court ordered that the document be released, but objections from two of the defendant's lawyers held things up. It is expected that the full statement will be released to the public on Tuesday.

For the sake of completeness, I should note that the excerpts obtained by the N.Y. Times were not authorized by the government. Someone leaked the excerpts over the phone to a Times reporter.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 01:08 AM

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