9/11: The Search for Justice: Part Two: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

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[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_09] I'm Kevin, and today we are going to hear the voice of the mastermind of the 9-11 attacks and talk about why, 25 years later, he has still not yet faced trial. Content warning, this episode contains discussion of murder and terrorism.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00] We are about to eavesdrop on a rather intriguing hearing.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_07] This tribunal is being conducted at 1.28 p.m. on board U.S.-enabled base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_09] This is a Combatant Status Review Tribunal Hearing, or CSRT, for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, or KSM. This is the man the government says was the mastermind behind the 9-11 attacks, the man who planned them, the man who made them happen.

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00] These hearings are relics of another time. After 9-11, the American government began using the term enemy combatant to refer to members of al-Qaeda, or the Taliban, that they took into custody. We are oversimplifying a bit, but basically the term was used in order to justify holding these people prisoner for an indefinite period of time.

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_09] These combatant status review tribunals were therefore ostensibly an attempt to protect the rights of these prisoners by taking an opportunity to take another look at them in order to see if they still met the definition of an enemy combatant. A 2008 Supreme Court decision was fairly critical of these CSRTs. And in 2009, the Obama administration announced that it was abandoning

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_09] the Bush administration's use of the enemy combatant term altogether.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00] The hearing we will be focusing on today is for KSM, the man said to be responsible for the 9-11 attacks. We will be looking at what was said in the tribunal and at a document filed in the Zacharias-Massawi trial to learn what exactly the government says KSM did and what evidence they have to back it up. We will hear the voice of KSM. Finally, we will end by addressing a question we are sure you are all asking. The attacks were 25 years ago.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00] KSM was captured 23 years ago. Why has he not been put on trial? My name is Anya Kane. I'm a journalist.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_09] And I'm Kevin Greenlee. I'm an attorney. And this is The Murder Sheet. We're a true crime podcast focused on original reporting, interviews, and deep dives into murder cases.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_00] We're The Murder Sheet.

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_09] And this is 9-11, The Search for Justice, Part 2, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_09] Before we get back to audio from the preceding, let's take a quick detour and discuss some of the things we will not be hearing. Arguably, the very best evidence against KSM, and certainly the evidence that gives us the fullest and richest account of the planning of the attacks, are his confessions. But there is a problem. They were obtained via torture. That makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to be used in any court proceeding against him.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_09] Despite this, his confessions do contain invaluable insights into how and why the attacks happened, and so they deserve our attention.

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00] We have access to some of the information in them through legal proceedings for another man. A few years after the 9-11 attacks, a man named Zacharias Massawi was put on trial for the part he played in them. We will have a lot more to say about that trial in some upcoming episodes. But for now, what you need to know is that as the architect of the 9-11 attacks, KSM obviously would have been an important witness in those proceedings.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_00] But for security reasons, neither the prosecution nor the defense was given access to KSM. Instead, they were given a 58-page document called Substitution for the Testimony of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. This is exactly what you would expect, a lengthy and detailed summary of what KSM had told the government over the years and what he would have testified to had he appeared in court.

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_09] We will be reading some excerpts from this report. Whenever we start or finish reading from it, you will hear this.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00] This document answers many questions about the 9-11 plot. Let's start by hearing what KSM has to say about how the whole thing began.

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed provided information on the evolution of his plot to hijack planes in the United States with suicide operatives. Sheikh Mohammed traveled to Afghanistan in 1996 to convince bin Laden to give him money and operatives so that he could hijack 10 planes in the U.S. to fly them into targets, with five targets on each coast of the United States. Bin Laden was not convinced of the practicality of the operation,

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_09] but in either March or April 1999, bin Laden changed his mind and summoned Sheikh Mohammed to meet him in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Bin Laden told Sheikh Mohammed that he now thought the idea could work and informed him that the operation now had al-Qaeda's full support. Bin Laden immediately offered him four individuals as potential hijacker suicide operatives. After the proposed hijacking plot gained the approval of bin Laden,

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed and other al-Qaeda members who were aware of the plot referred to it as the planes operation. Sheikh Mohammed estimated they would take about two years to plan and execute. Sheikh Mohammed said that he had to make his first major adjustment to his plan during the spring and summer of 1999. Sheikh Mohammed decided to split the planes operation into two parts. The first part involved the United States.

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed planned to send an as-yet undetermined number of operatives to the United States to hijack U.S. flagged commercial airliners and crash them into targets within the United States. In the other part of the operation, operatives would hijack U.S. flagged commercial air blinds flying Pacific routes and would explode them in mid-air instead of flying them into targets. The plan at this point was to have all planes in the United States and East Asia

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_09] either explode or crash at roughly the same time to maximize the psychological impact of the attack. In the spring of 2000, bin Laden canceled the East Asia portion of the planes operation in April or May, claiming that it would be too difficult to synchronize the U.S. and East Asia portions of the operation.

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_00] So, as horrifying as the actual attacks were, they could have been even worse. KSM also spoke about how he felt about being put in charge of planning the attacks, as well as some of the operational details of how they managed communications.

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_09] According to Sheikh Mohammed, he was happy that bin Laden assigned him to the 9-11 operation because he had proposed a similar operation to bin Laden four years earlier in 1996, immediately after bin Laden's arrival from Sudan to Tora Bora. Sheikh Mohammed thought the operation was easy. He suggested the time that they send Muhajin to study in the flight institutes

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_09] and use large planes such as a Boeing 747-400 or larger, not small planes. Sheikh Mohammed did not like to depend on the military training that was given in Afghanistan because he considered it impractical. Sheikh Mohammed thought simplicity was the key to success. Sheikh Mohammed did not like using codes in routine messages or emails. He asked the operatives to be normal to the maximum extent possible in their dealings,

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_09] to keep the tone of their letters educational, social, or commercial, and to keep the calls short. He gave hijacker Mohammed Adda enough authority that he would not need to consult with him frequently, and would be the decision maker.

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_00] KSM also explained how the so-called goal of the attacks helped the plotters pick targets.

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed said that the purpose of the attack on the Twin Towers was to wake the American people up. Sheikh Mohammed said that if the target would have been strictly military or government, the American people would not focus on the atrocities that America is committing by supporting Israel against the Palestinian people and America's self-serving foreign policy that corrupts Arab governments and leads to further exploitation of the Arab Muslim peoples.

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_00] This is as good a place as any to mention what surely would have been an issue in any trial of KSM. He would surely use it to try to spread his propaganda. We are going to include as little as we can in this episode of his proselytizing, but we have to include some of it. We encourage you to listen to it with as skeptical of an ear as possible. Despite his self-image, KSM is not a freedom fighter. He is just a mass murderer.

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_00] Let's get back to the early days of the plotting.

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_09] In 1998, Bin Laden publicly declared war against the United States. Bin Laden requested a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, during which he specifically requested Sheikh Mohammed's assistance in developing an operation designed to drive aircraft into targets. During Sheikh Mohammed's first targeting meeting, Bin Laden discussed operational concepts with him in general terms. Bin Laden expressed his desire to simultaneously hit the Pentagon,

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_09] White House, and U.S. Capitol building. According to Sheikh Mohammed, when Adda was identified as an operative, Bin Laden held another meeting in Kandahar to discuss which targets would be hit. Bin Laden indicated that he wanted to hit a military, political, and economic target. Dozens of possible targets were discussed, including the World Trade Center, a nuclear reactor, the Empire State Building,

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_09] a foreign embassy in Washington, D.C., and the headquarters of both the CIA and the FBI. Sheikh Mohammed said that the plane that crashed into the field in Pennsylvania was targeted at the Capitol building. Sheikh Mohammed said that New York was definitely the economic capital of the United States and thus was always the first target on his mind. After the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, Sheikh Mohammed decided that explosives and bombs could be problematic,

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_09] so he focused on using airplanes as weapons. The most attractive targets were high buildings, both for their relative ease of targeting as well as for the symbolic impact. Sheikh Mohammed said the targets that were not included in the 9-11 attacks were to be carried forward to the next operation. Several targets were listed that were not attacked. They included the White House, the U.S. Capitol, a foreign embassy, the Sears Tower, and a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

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[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_00] KSM also explained how they picked the hijackers who would fly the planes on September 11th.

[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed asserted that aptitude was not taken into account in selecting the potential 9-11 pilots. He explained that he and bin Laden never considered whether any special skills or talents were needed to learn how to pilot an aircraft. They believed that learning to fly an airplane was much like learning to drive a car. It was easily accomplished with the correct instruction.

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_00] With this said, it's worth noting that one of the hijackers, Hani Hanjour, did have experience as a pilot. He ended up being chosen to fly the plane that would hit the Pentagon. That was the attack that required the most piloting skill.

[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed stated that he learned of the impending date of the hijackings via courier as opposed to telephone or email. After the final details of the plot solidified in late August, bin Laden notified the al-Qaeda Shura Council that a major attack against unspecified U.S. interests was scheduled to take place over the coming weeks. But he did not reveal additional details.

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_09] During the summer, bin Laden made several remarks vaguely hinting at an upcoming attack, which generated rumors throughout the worldwide jihadist community. Bin Laden informed high-level visitors to expect a major near-term attack against U.S. interests. And during a speech at the al-Farag camp, he urged trainees to pray for the success of a major operation involving 20 martyrs.

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed was concerned about this lack of discretion and urged bin Laden not to make additional comments about the plot. On three instances, Sheikh Mohammed withstood pressure from bin Laden to launch the operation earlier than planned. The first time was in the spring of 2000, shortly after Atta and the other pilot hijackers had arrived in the United States.

[00:22:31] [SPEAKER_09] Bin Laden also pressured Sheikh Mohammed twice during the spring of 2001 to launch the attacks early. Bin Laden wanted to attack on May 12, 2001, exactly seven months after the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. The second time was in either June or July 2001 because bin Laden had learned from media reports that Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, would be visiting the White House.

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_09] On both occasions, Sheikh Mohammed was able to withstand bin Laden's pressure by asserting that his hijacking team was not ready yet.

[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_00] KSM also discussed plans for a second wave of attacks that would have occurred at some point after September 11.

[00:23:14] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed indicated that second wave refers to efforts begun in parallel with the 9-11 plot to identify and train pilots and muscle for additional 9-11-style attacks in the United States. From the beginning, a key distinction from the core 9-11 plot was that the second wave pilots would be non-Arab passport holders and that their eventual targets would be in California or elsewhere in the western United States.

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_09] Perhaps non-eastern targets would be more accurate, as Sheikh Mohammed has lumped Chicago into his general exposition on potential western targets. Progress in identifying and training non-Arab passport-holding pilots lagged far behind the development of the 9-11 plot. The second wave of attacks was intended to utilize operatives with European and East Asian backgrounds,

[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_09] whom Sheikh Mohammed believed would operate more easily in what he expected to be a more stringent security environment following the 9-11 attacks, especially as it related to Middle Easterners. Sheikh Mohammed stated that the second wave was not completely planned or ready for execution, but was on the back burner. Sheikh Mohammed had no idea that the damage of the first attack would be as catastrophic as it was,

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_09] and he did not plan on the U.S. responding to the attacks as fiercely as they did, which led to the next phase being postponed. Sheikh Mohammed was impressed by the security measures implemented in the United States in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Based on the U.S. reaction to the attacks and future plots to the United States, Sheikh Mohammed assessed, at least for the short term, that the prospects for a second round of hijacking attacks to the United States were dismal.

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_00] We found it fascinating that KSM specifically said that the post-9-11 security measures succeeded in preventing future attacks. KSM also seemed to want to stress what he saw as the difference between how his team approached planning this terrorist operation and how he imagined it might be done in the West.

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_09] Sheikh Mohammed said that operationally, it was not smart to share with others your tactics or intended targets. When four people know the details of an operation, it is dangerous. When two people know, it is good. When just one person knows, it is better. Sheikh Mohammed wrote the following, I know that the materialistic Western mind cannot grasp the idea, and it is difficult for them to believe that the high officials in Al-Qaeda

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_09] do not know about operations carried out by its operatives, that this is how it works. We do not submit written reports to our higher-ups. I conducted the September 11th operation by submitting only oral reports. I would travel for a day and a half until I reached Bin Laden, and I informed him what was happening. Sometimes, I'd scratch down my notes on a small piece of paper about 10 centimeters long. This is unacceptable in operations administered by the West.

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_09] We sent meaningless letters of a few lines. We spoke nonsense on the telephone with operatives in the go-between people. But in the end, the operation was a success. I know that running an operation in the West demands specific administrative work. Yet you must believe this same operation could be run successfully with simple, primitive means. Shura Council at Al-Qaeda is not a board of directors or a war operations room as you know it.

[00:26:47] [SPEAKER_09] It is an advisory board for Bin Laden, unlike what you have in the West. For you, ruling is by the majority of votes. However, if the Shura Council at Al-Qaeda, the highest authority in the organization, had a majority of 98% on a resolution, and it is opposed by Bin Laden, he has the right to cancel the resolution because it is only consultative to him and not binding.

[00:27:14] [SPEAKER_09] You must study these matters to know the huge difference between the Western mentality in administration and the Eastern mentality, specifically at Al-Qaeda.

[00:27:24] [SPEAKER_00] Now, with all that said, let's get back to the hearing. They did not present any evidence from the confessions, so what did they offer? Let's listen in as the recorder reads off the non-classified evidence they had against KSM. The audio quality is not perfect, but we think it is worth putting up with because of the historical value of the recording.

[00:27:48] [SPEAKER_07] The following facts support the determination that the detainee is an enemy combatant. Paragraph A. On the morning of 11 September 2001, four airliners traveling over the United States were hijacked. The flights hijacked were American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77, and United Airlines Flight 93.

[00:28:11] [SPEAKER_07] At approximately 8.46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of the tower at approximately 10.25 a.m. At approximately 9.05 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of the tower at approximately 9.55 a.m.

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_07] At approximately 9.37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the southwest side of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. At approximately 10.03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Stony Creek Township, Pennsylvania. These crashes and subsequent damage to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon resulted in the deaths of 2,972 persons in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

[00:29:01] [SPEAKER_07] Paragraph B. The detainee served as the head of the Al-Qaeda Military Committee and was Osama bin Laden's principal Al-Qaeda operative who directed the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States. Paragraph C. In an interview with an Al Jazeera reporter in June 2002, the detainee stated that he was the head of the Al-Qaeda Military Committee. Paragraph D. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee

[00:29:29] [SPEAKER_07] contained a dot com.

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_07] Paragraph D. A document elicit the pilot license fees for Mohammed Atta and biographies for some of the 11 September 2001 hijackers. Paragraph G. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee contained images of passports and an image of Mohammed Atta. Paragraph H. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee contained transcripts of chat sessions belonging to at least one of the 11 September 2001 hijackers.

[00:30:29] [SPEAKER_07] Paragraph I. The detainee directed an individual to travel to the United States to case targets for a second wave of attacks. Paragraph J. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee contained three letters from Osama bin Laden. Paragraph K. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee contained spreadsheets that described monetary assistance to families of known Al-Qaeda members.

[00:30:55] [SPEAKER_07] Paragraph L. The detainee's name was on a list in a computer seized in connection with a threat to United States Airlines, United States Embassies, and the Pope. Paragraph M. The detainee wrote the Bojinka plot, the airline bomb plot which was later found on his nephew Ramsey Youssef's computer. Paragraph N. The Bojinka plot is also known as the Manila Air Investigation.

[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_07] Paragraph O. The Manila Air Investigation uncovered that the detainee conspired with others to plant explosive devices aboard American jetliners while those aircraft were scheduled to be airborne and loaded with passengers on their way to the United States. Paragraph P. The detainee was in charge of and funded an attack against United States military vessels heading to the port of Djibouti. Paragraph Q. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee

[00:31:49] [SPEAKER_07] contained a letter to the United Arab Emirates threatening to attack if their government continued to help the United States. Paragraph R. During the capture of the detainee, information used exclusively by Al-Qaeda operational managers to communicate with operatives was found. Paragraph S. The detainee received funds from Kuwaiti-based Islamic extremist groups and delivered those funds to Al-Qaeda members.

[00:32:19] [SPEAKER_07] Paragraph T. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee contained a document that summarized operational procedures and training requirements of an Al-Qaeda cell. Paragraph U. A computer hard drive seized during the capture of the detainee contained a list of killed and wounded Al-Qaeda martyrs. And lastly, Paragraph V. Passport photographs of Al-Qaeda operatives were seized during the capture of the detainee. Sir, this concludes the summary of unclassified evidence.

[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_09] As you can hear, much of the evidence they presented appears to be materials discovered on a computer. But, at least according to KSM, there was a problem. The computer was not his. He claimed it was for a man named Hesawi, who was taken into custody at the same time as KSM. What you are about to hear is the voice of KSM.

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_05] Most of these facts which have been written are related to this hard drive. And more than 11 of these facts related to this computer. And the other things which is very old, even nobody can bring any witnesses for that. And as you written here, if it will be available for you,

[00:33:42] [SPEAKER_04] for the witnesses nearby, you will do it. This computer is not for me, for Hesawi himself. That's why I'm saying I need Hesawi, because me and him, we both being arrested the same day, same rate. So this computer, it was for him from a long time.

[00:34:02] [SPEAKER_00] KSM also argued that some of the materials on this computer weren't even incriminating.

[00:34:07] [SPEAKER_03] And also, specifically, if we said Muhammad Al-Ata picture being this hard drive, I don't think it would be accepted, because there are many hundred thousand of Americans that have Muhammad Al-Ata picture on their computer. You cannot say, I found Muhammad Al-Ata picture on your computer, then we use this fact against you.

[00:34:27] [SPEAKER_09] We also wanted to highlight this particular exchange between KSM and the man running the proceeding. They discuss his treatment, or, if you want to avoid the euphemism, his torture. KSM seems to indicate that the torture led to him and others giving false information. Interestingly, though, he does not appear to deny that he is an enemy combatant. We also note that there was an extended silence in this clip. That is in the original recording, and indicates that something was redacted by the government.

[00:34:57] [SPEAKER_06] Were any statements that you made as a result of any of the treatment that you received during that time frame from 2003 to 2006, did you make those statements because of the treatment that you received from these people?

[00:35:15] [SPEAKER_03] Your statement for whom?

[00:35:17] [SPEAKER_06] To any of these interrogators.

[00:35:21] [SPEAKER_04] The CIA people?

[00:35:23] [SPEAKER_02] Yes, at the beginning, when it was answered. What I'm trying to get at is

[00:35:35] [SPEAKER_06] any statement that you made, was it because of this treatment? To use your word, you claimed torture. Did you make any statements because of that? So for clarification, can you translate it? Yes.

[00:35:53] [SPEAKER_03] Yes.

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_02] I don't remember many people they know,

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_04] which I don't know. I asked him, do you know George Bush? He said this, I mean,

[00:36:09] [SPEAKER_02] he don't know you. That's not me. I mean, it's false. I said yes or not. This is a chair.

[00:36:19] [SPEAKER_06] I understand. Is there anything that you would like to correct, amend, modify, or explain to us from what you said back then?

[00:36:31] [SPEAKER_03] I want to just, it's not related to the company, but I'm saying that for you to be faithful with people, that you have classified and unclassified tax. My opinion is to be fair with people because when I said, I will not regretting when I say I'm any competent, I did it or not, 9-11 or others, but there are many detainees which you will receive classified against them. Maybe they did not take from me.

[00:37:01] [SPEAKER_03] For many detainees, false witnesses. There's only advice.

[00:37:05] [SPEAKER_06] So you are aware that other people made false statements as a result of this?

[00:37:11] [SPEAKER_03] Because I did also. I did for many, I don't mind him. I said, yes, they are. And they are not. And even if you would show me this man, I don't know him. I never met him at all. So unclassified, which is, which is, we have both classified and unclassified. So this classified, which don't, we don't know him, you know him, you have to be fair with people. There are many, many people with, they never been cried, or Taliban. Afghanistan, there may be many people who have been arrested, or,

[00:37:41] [SPEAKER_03] for example, the people who have been arrested, after October of 2001, after America's attack in Afghanistan. Many of them, they just arrived after. They don't know what's happened.

[00:37:53] [SPEAKER_00] KSM offered a final statement to the tribunal. It was read aloud by his PR, or personal representative. We are going to play all of it, but we'll jump in to provide a bit of context when we think it might be helpful.

[00:38:06] [SPEAKER_08] According to the detainee, quote, I hereby admit and affirm without duress to the following. One, I swore bayat, meaning allegiance, to Sheikh Osama bin Laden to conduct jihad of self and money, and also hijah, meaning expatriation to any location in the world where jihad is required. Two, I was a member of the Al-Qaeda council,

[00:38:37] [SPEAKER_08] three, I was the media operations director for Al-Sahab, or the clouds, under Dr. Ayman Alzaoui-Hiri. Al-Sahab is the media outlet that provided Al-Qaeda-sponsored information to Al-Jazeera. Four, and other channels and other media outlets. Four, I was the operational director for Sheikh Osama bin Laden for the organizing,

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_08] planning, follow-up, and execution of the 9-11 operation under the military commander, Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Masri Tui Abu Siddha. Five, I was the military operational commander for all foreign operations around the world under the direction of Sheikh Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman Alzaoui-Hiri. Six, I was directly in charge

[00:39:36] [SPEAKER_08] after the death of Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Masri Tui Abu Siddha of managing and following up on the cell for the production of biological weapons such as anthrax and others and following up on dirty bomb operations on American soil. Seven, I was the emir, meaning commander, of Baid al-Shuhara, meaning the martyr's house in the state

[00:40:06] [SPEAKER_08] of Kandahar, Afghanistan, which housed the 9-11 hijackers. There, I was responsible for their training and readiness for the execution of the 9-11 operation. Also, I hereby admit and affirm without duress that I was a responsible participant, principal planner, trainer, financier via the military council treasury, executor, and or a personal participant

[00:40:36] [SPEAKER_08] in the following. One, I was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center operation.

[00:40:44] [SPEAKER_09] On February 26, 1993, a bomb in a van went off in a World Trade Center parking garage. Six people were killed and over 1,000 people were injured.

[00:40:56] [SPEAKER_08] Two, I was responsible for the 9-11 operation from A to Z. Three, I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, 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.

[00:41:16] [SPEAKER_00] Daniel Pearl was a reporter who was kidnapped while working on a story in Pakistan in early 2002. His captors beheaded him and put the video of the murder on the internet.

[00:41:27] [SPEAKER_08] Four, I was responsible for the shoe bomber operation to down American airplanes.

[00:41:33] [SPEAKER_09] In December 2001, a man named Richard Reed boarded a flight with explosives hidden in his shoes. He tried to detonate them on the plane but was unsuccessful.

[00:41:44] [SPEAKER_08] Five, I was responsible for the Filca Island operation in Kuwait that killed two American soldiers.

[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_00] In October 2002, gunmen opened fire on United States Marines training in Kuwait, surprising them while they were playing baseball. Two were killed.

[00:42:01] [SPEAKER_08] Six, I was responsible for the financing of the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, which was frequented by British and Australian nationals.

[00:42:12] [SPEAKER_09] In October 2002, three bombs went off in a tourist district in Bali. 202 people were killed.

[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_08] Seven, I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing the new or second wave attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9-11. Library Tower, California, Sears Tower, Chicago, Plaza Bank, Washington State, the Empire State Building, New York City. Eight, I was responsible for planning, financing, and follow-up of operations

[00:42:50] [SPEAKER_08] to destroy American military vessels and oil tankers in the Straits of Hormuz, the Straits of Gibraltar, and the Port of Singapore. Nine, I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing for the operation to bomb and destroy the Panama Canal. Ten, I was responsible for surveying and financing for the assassination of several former American presidents, including

[00:43:19] [SPEAKER_08] President Carter. Eleven, I was responsible for surveying, planning, and financing for the bombing of suspension bridges in New York. Twelve, I was responsible for planning to destroy the Sears Tower by burning a few fuel or oil tanker trucks beneath it or around it. Thirteen, I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the operation to destroy

[00:43:49] [SPEAKER_08] Heathrow Airport, the Canary Wharf building, and Big Ben on British soil. Fourteen, I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the disruption of many nightclubs frequented by American and British citizens on Thailand soil. Fifteen, I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the New York Stock Exchange and other financial targets after 9-11. Sixteen,

[00:44:19] [SPEAKER_08] I was responsible for planning, financing, and surveying for the destruction of buildings in the Israeli city of Eilat by using airplanes leaving from Saudi Arabia. Seventeen, I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of American embassies in Indonesia, Australia, and Japan. Eighteen, I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the Israeli embassy

[00:44:48] [SPEAKER_08] in India, Azerbaijan, the Philippines, and Australia. Nineteen, I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of an Israeli El Al Airlines flight on Thailand soil departing from Bangkok airport. Twenty, I was responsible for sending several Mujahideen into Israel to conduct surveillance to hit several strategic targets deep in Israel.

[00:45:18] [SPEAKER_08] Twenty-one, I was responsible for the bombing of the hotel in Mombasa that is frequented by Jewish travelers via El Al Airlines.

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_00] In November 2002, a car bomb exploded at the Paradise Hotel in Mombasa. Thirteen people were killed and eighty were injured.

[00:45:39] [SPEAKER_08] Twenty-two, I was responsible for launching a Russian-made SA-7 surface-to-air missile on El Al or other Jewish airliner or another Jewish airliner departing from Mombasa.

[00:45:53] [SPEAKER_09] The missiles fired at the plane missed. No one was killed or injured.

[00:46:00] [SPEAKER_08] Twenty-three, I was responsible for planning and surveying to hit American targets in South Korea such as American military bases and a few nightclubs frequented by American soldiers. Twenty-four, I was responsible for financing, excuse me, I was responsible for providing financial support to hit American, Jewish, and British targets in Turkey. Twenty-five,

[00:46:29] [SPEAKER_08] I was responsible for surveillance needed to hit nuclear power plants that generate electricity in several U.S. states. Twenty-six, I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing to hit NATO headquarters in Europe. Twenty-seven, I was responsible for the planning and surveying needed to execute the Bojinka operation, which was designed to down 12 American airplanes full of passengers.

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_08] I personally monitored a round-trip Manila to Seoul Pan Am flight.

[00:47:04] [SPEAKER_00] The Bojinka operation was a plot that involved not only blowing up 11 planes in midair, but also assassinating the Pope. It never happened.

[00:47:15] [SPEAKER_08] Twenty-eight, I was responsible for the assassination attempt against President Clinton during his visit to the Philippines in 1994 or 1995. Twenty-nine, I was responsible for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II while he was visiting the Philippines. I shared responsibility. I'll restate number 29. I shared responsibility for the assassination

[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_08] attempt against Pope John Paul II while he was visiting the Philippines. Thirty, I was responsible for the training and financing for the assassination of Pakistan's President Musharraf. Thirty-one, 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.

[00:48:14] [SPEAKER_08] Unquote. Sir, that concludes the written portion of the detainee's final statement.

[00:48:22] [SPEAKER_09] So, even by his own account, KSM is responsible for an incredible amount of death and suffering.

[00:48:29] [SPEAKER_00] After his written statement was read, KSM made further remarks. For some reason, these remarks were not included in the recording, although they do appear in the transcript of the hearing. In any case, here are some excerpts of what he had to say. You will find much of it outrageous.

[00:48:48] [SPEAKER_09] I not take the oath. Take an oath as a part of your tribunal and I'll not accept it. To be or accept the tribunal as to be, I'll accept it. That I'm accepting American Constitution, American law, or whatever you're doing here. This is why, religiously, I cannot accept anything you do. Just to explain for this one, does not mean I'm not saying that I'm lying. When I not take oath does not mean I'm lying. You know very well people take oath and they will lie. You know the president, he did this before, he just makes his oath

[00:49:17] [SPEAKER_09] and he lied. So, sometimes when I'm not making oath does not mean I'm lying. What I wrote here is not I'm making myself hero when I said I was responsible for this or that. But you are a military man. You know very well there are language for any war. So, there are, we are, when I'm admitting these things, I'm not saying I'm not did it. I did it, but this is the language of any war. If America, they want to invade Iraq, they will not send for Saddam roses

[00:49:47] [SPEAKER_09] or kisses. They send for a bombardment. This is the best way if I want. If I'm fighting for anybody, admit to them I'm American enemies for sure. I'm American enemies. Osama bin Laden, he did his best press conference in American media. Mr. John Miller, he'd been there when he made declaration against Jihad against America. And he said it is not no need for me now to make explanation of what he said. But mostly he said about American

[00:50:17] [SPEAKER_09] military presence in Arabian Peninsula and aiding Israel in many things. So when we made any war against America, we are jackals fighting in the nights. I consider myself for what you are doing a religious thing is you consider us fundamentalists. So we derive from religious leading that we consider we and George Washington doing the same thing. It would be widely definite that many people be oppressed because war for sure there would be victims.

[00:50:47] [SPEAKER_09] When I said I'm not happy that 3,000 been killed in America, I feel sorry even. I don't like to kill children and the kids. Never Islam give me green light to kill peoples. Killing is in the Christianity, Jews, and Islam are prohibited. But there are exception of rule when you are killing people in Iraq.

[00:51:08] [SPEAKER_00] To make some obvious points, KSM is not George Washington. He is crudely trying to act as if there is no difference between him and some of this country's heroes. But Washington never ordered the murder of 3,000 civilians. KSM's claim to feel sorrow at the deaths of 9-11 also ring false to us, especially as we ponder that long list of terroristic acts he admitted responsibility for. We are not mental health professionals,

[00:51:38] [SPEAKER_00] but to us, he sounds like a malignant narcissist who uses his delusions of grandeur and backwards interpretation of Islam in order to justify wholesale slaughter of innocents.

[00:51:50] [SPEAKER_09] Needless to say, it was found that KSM did indeed continue to meet the definition of an enemy combatant. But that didn't really answer the larger question of what to do with him, since as we've said, his confessions likely could not be used in a trial.

[00:52:05] [SPEAKER_00] One way finally offered itself in July of 2024. The Pentagon announced that after years of negotiations, it had reached a plea deal with KSM and two of his associates. The men would plead guilty in return for the death penalty being taken off the table. The men would also be obliged to answer questions put to them by 9-11 families.

[00:52:28] [SPEAKER_09] In our previous episode, we mentioned Ted Olson, who lost his wife Barbara on 9-11. In an article for the Washington Post, he came out in favor of the deal, writing, quote, this was not the justice I'd originally hoped for, but he felt it was the way to, quote, begin to close this painful chapter in our nation's history.

[00:52:48] [SPEAKER_00] We agree with that position. It has now been 25 years. The families have waited in vain for the justice system to work. Because of the problem with the confessions, it is not clear that a trial will ever be possible. At least this way, a period would have been put on the sentence and there would be a judicial determination.

[00:53:07] [SPEAKER_09] Some politicians who did not seem to recognize that a trial would be close to impossible criticized the deal. For instance, CNN quoted South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham as saying, quote, the world is on fire, terrorism is rampant, and we give a plea deal to the mastermind of 9-11. That just encourages more attacks.

[00:53:27] [SPEAKER_00] In any case, just days after the plea deals were announced, then-defense secretary Lloyd Austin suddenly announced that he was voiding them. It wasn't immediately clear that he had the power to do that, but ultimately, the courts upheld his decision.

[00:53:43] [SPEAKER_09] That effectively threw out, in one fell swoop, years of work the prosecutors had put in to negotiate that deal. It put everything back at the beginning at square one. And so, an ultimate judicial resolution to all of this seems further away than ever.

[00:54:03] [SPEAKER_00] You may have seen on the news in the last couple of weeks that KSM trial judge Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama has ruled that the confessions cannot be used in the proceeding. The trial is now set to begin in June of 2028.

[00:54:19] [SPEAKER_09] Most experts predict it will be delayed. Thanks so much for listening to the Murder Sheet. If you have a tip concerning one of the cases we cover, please email us at murdersheet at gmail dot com. If you have actionable information about an unsolved crime, please report it to the appropriate authorities.

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[00:55:07] [SPEAKER_09] Special thanks to Kevin Tyler Greenlee, who composed the music for the Murder Sheet, and who you can find on the web at kevintg.com.

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