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Five ‘boast’ of 9/11 attacks in trial document

Five men accused of planning the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York have reportedly acknowledged and boasted of their role, saying they are proud of the event that killed nearly 3,000 people and calling it a model of Islamic action. In a document filed with the military commission trying them, the alleged co-conspirators described themselves as “terrorists to the bone” and sought to justify the attacks.

“To us, they are not accusations,” the document reads. “To us they are a badge of honour, which we carry with honour. Many thanks to God, for his kind gesture, and choosing us to perform the act of jihad for his cause and to defend Islam and Muslims.” The document, entitled The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations, bears the names of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, who are among the “high value” detainees held in a high-security camp at Guantanamo Bay.

It says that killing and fighting Americans is a “great legitimate duty in our religion” and says the attacks are an offering to God. A Pentagon spokesman said the men had authored it. However, attorneys for two of the men said they had not discussed the document with them and could not vouch for its authenticity.

The document, which is shot through with religious rhetoric and scriptural references, describes the men as the “9/11 Shura Council,” using the Arabic term for a consultative assembly. They say the terrorist killings were a response to U.S. support for Israel, the war in Iraq and other U.S. actions, and were justified by their Muslim faith, “a religion of fear and terror to the enemies of God: the Jews, Christians and pagans.” It also mocks U.S. intelligence agencies for failing to discover the plans and for being unable to foil the attacks.

The boastful admissions come as aides to Barack Obama are reviewing the status of around 245 Guantanamo inmates in order to determine who should be released and who should face trial in U.S. civilian criminal courts.

Sarah Mendelson, director of the human rights and security initiative at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think-tank, said the document was part of a “strategic communication” effort by men who realised that the publicity value of Guantanamo Bay has eroded with Mr. Obama’s order to shut it.

“There are a few constituencies out there who do not want to see Guantanamo closed, and al-Qaeda is one of them,” she said, adding that the prison has been a recruiting tool for the terrorist group. “The clock is winding down on these people. Their whole martyrdom is going to be lost because they will be treated as common criminals.”

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Commander Jeffrey Gordon, said the document “appears to be merely another attempt by these detainees to garner publicity.” In some of his first actions as President, Mr. Obama ordered the prison at Guantanamo to be closed within the first year of his presidency and halted all pending military commission trials of detainees. At the time, charges were pending against 21 detainees. The administration hopes that many of the inmates will eventually be transferred to other countries.

Last month Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born British resident, was released from Guantanamo and returned to Britain. Other detainees may face trial in U.S. courts. Khalid Sheikh Mohamed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11 attacks, was indicted in the U.S. federal court before he was brought to Guantanamo Bay. Hasawi has been described as the financial facilitator for the September 11 attacks.

The two are among the hard core of suspected terrorists believed still to pose a national security threat to the United States.

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