Guantanamo Detainee Confesses to Masterminding 9-11

The United States Department of Defense has revealed that Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, a suspected Al Qaeda operative, has recently confessed to being the mastermind behind the 9-11 attacks. In a statement written by Muhammad and read to the tribunal by a representative states: "I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation, from A to Z."

Muhammad's statement came was not expected by the Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT). The purpose of the tribunal was not to try Muhammad for any specific operations but only to determine whether or not Muhammad could be classified as an enemy combatant. However, Muhammad used the opportunity to submit this confession.

Besides confessing to responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, Muhammad claimed responsibility for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the failed 2001 shoe bomber attempt and a number of other terrorist attacks, most of which were never successfully completed.

For example, Muhammad claims in his statement that he planned attacks on four other skyscrapers which were to come as a "New (or Second) Wave" after the attacks on 9/11. He revealed his targets as: the Liberty Tower in Los Angeles, California the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, the Plaza Bank in Seattle, Washington and the Empire State Building in New York City, New York.

Although Muhammad did not read the statement himself, he was present for the reading before the Tribunal. Muhammad stopped the reading only once, to correct statement 29 of his confession, which read: "I was responsible for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul the second while he was visiting the Philippines."

Muhammad changed the statement to "I shared responsibility for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul the second while he was visiting the Philippines."

After the statement was read, Muhammad was asked by the President of the Tribunal whether these were indeed his words. Muhammad answered "Yes." He then presented his own oral statement, beginning with a prayer in Arabic. Muhammad refused to take an oath, stating that this was against Islam.

During his oral statement, he made clear that his confessions were not meant to show himself as a "hero," but rather an enemy of the United States of America. He also compared himself to George Washington, first President of the United States, saying that the British would have considered Washington a terrorist as well. He finished his statement by asking the question "Who is enemy combatant and who is not?"

Khalid Sheikh Muhammad was arrested in March 2003 in Pakistan and given over to US custody. He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay on September 6 2006 from the CIA. He submitted his confession on March 10, 2003.