Suspected 9/11 mastermind, 4 co-defendants offer to confess

GUANTANAMO NAVAL BASE, Cuba - Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and four other co-defendants told the military judge of their war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo on Monday that they want to immediately confess to all charges.

They could face the death penalty if convicted.

In a letter the judge read aloud in court, the five defendants said they request an immediate hearing session to announce our confessions.

The letter implies they want to plead guilty, but does not specify whether they will admit to any specific charges. It also says they wish to drop all previous defense motions and fire their lawyers and represent themselves.

Mohammed said that after he was tortured by the CIA, he no longer trusts anyone, accusing the court and lawyers of working for the U.S. government.

Another suspect, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh was firm in his commitment to Jihad.

"I reaffirm my allegiance to Osama Bin Laden," he said. "I hope that Jihad continues, and hits in the heart of America with all kinds of weapons".

Behind him sat 9 members of families of victims of terror attacks, including 9-11, who were allowed to attend the process at Guntanamo for the first time.

The military commission hearing on Monday seemed like a farce, with no one was listening to the other. Everyone had their own agenda and script, and was playing by different rules. The judge did his best to conduct the hearing as if it was any normal trial.

The courtroom, hidden behind a barbed wire fence, was presided over by a judge in black robes with the suspects sitting at wooden tables with interpreters and lawyers at their sides - almost like a normal courtroom.

Uniformed soldiers sat against the walls, but even though the defendants were allegedly among the world's most dangerous criminals, none of the soldiers looked to have been armed in any way.

The defendants' civilian lawyers and representatives of civil rights organizations attended the hearing to ensure it went according to law and the prisoners' rights were not violated in any fashion. Nevertheless, the accused themselves said they had no interest in dragging out the legal process, as they are willing to die now.

The judge, Army Col. Stephen Henley, asked all five defendants if they were prepared to enter a plea, and all five said yes. But Henley said competency hearings for two of the detainees would prevent them from immediately filing their pleas.

The five face 2,973 counts of murder, one for each person killed in the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks.

Several of the defendants said at previous hearings they welcomed martyrdom. They may have felt that opportunity slipping away with Barack Obama's election, as the note to the judge said the defendants made their decision on Nov. 4, the day Obama was elected.

Obama has said he will shut down the Guantanamo prison camp and try detainees in the regular U.S. civilian or military courts rather than the special Guantanamo tribunals created by the Bush administration.

Family members of 9/11 victims exited the courtroom shaken, but told journalists they were "extremely proud of the country that allows those people who proudly confessed killing almost 3000 people, fair trial."

"We were expecting of Ramzi Bin al Shibh some kind of provocation," said Alice Hoagland, mother of Mark Bingham, who died in the crash of hijacked United Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11.

"I found it amusing. There was much suffering in our house as in the families of the other families of the victims, and our life will never be the same. But we're a nation of laws. They don't even deserve the glory of execution and martyrdom. We should assure those dreadful people spend their lives in American prison, guarded by those whom they hate, to show we have respect for life, even for those miserable lives. I don't believe Guantanamo needs to be closed ? I've got a sense it got a bad reputation mainly because of Abu-Ghraib prison. The very famous waterboarding of Sheikh Muhammad didn't take place here, but in Afghanistan in 2002, by the CIA that were eager to obtain intelligence."

"I am struck at the tremendous efforts our country is going through to ensure fair trial", said Hamilton Peterson, who lost his father and stepmother on flight 93. "The suspects were allowed to take prayer breaks, their interruptions were answered patiently by the judge. Those people were smearing and laughing and passing notes, they didn't look tortured, and they made a joke of this court, but they were very knowledgeable about what was going on. It's clear to me they are knowingly and happily guilty. It appeared they were aware of our presence."

He expressed hope that after President-Elect Barack Obama received an intelligence briefing, it brought him "new awareness about what happened in the last 8 years", said Hamilton. "I believe GTMO won't be closed or relocated, especially at the times of economic crisis, but expanded, because when we look to Mumbai we know what's expected here. I think he'll come to awareness that it's a fair venue. The presence of the international press here, including Al-Jazeera, shows America is taking the high road, and it's the only way to proceed. Most of the attention was on Osama Bin-Laden, but for me Khalid Sheik Mohammed was the major operative player, and for me personally to see him afforded all the rights made me proud of this country."

"I personally was relieved when they actually admitted doing it, killing my son and almost 3000 other people," told Mauren Santora, whose son was among the firefighters killed at the Twin Towers. "They were proud to be guilty and it says a lot about them. I can say that my son would be proud of the U.S. government that ensured those people received fair trial. My son's death won't be in vain. They should finish this trial, and I'm glad it's not happening on the mainland."

Her husband Alexander added: "I am proud to be the citizen of a country that allows them to stand and talk freely about all the "wonderful things" Osama Bin Laden did." The couple brought with them pictures of the firefighters killed in 9/11 attack. "Their voices were silenced, but we have a duty to speak on their behalf," he said.

Defense representatives claimed that 9/11 proceedings was a "show trial", and some of them even added that the family members of victims were brought to the trial for the first time as "a blackmailing of President-Elect" to argue for the continuation of Guantanamo trials. The Prosecutor dismissed this allegation, saying that "we are confident in the process and it's important that it will be as open as possible."