Why KSM's Confession Rings False
Thursday, Mar. 15, 2007
Why KSM's Confession Rings False
By Robert Baer
It's hard to tell what the Pentagon's objective really is in releasing the transcript of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession. It certainly suggests the Administration is trying to blame KSM for al-Qaeda terrorism, leading us to believe we've caught the master terrorist and that al-Qaeda, and especially the ever-elusive bin Laden, is no longer a threat to the U.S.
But there is a major flaw in that marketing strategy. On the face of it, KSM, as he is known inside the government, comes across as boasting, at times mentally unstable. It's also clear he is making things up. I'm told by people involved in the investigation that KSM was present during Wall Street Journal correspondent Danny Pearl's execution but was in fact not the person who killed him. There exists videotape footage of the execution that minimizes KSM's role. And if KSM did indeed exaggerate his role in the Pearl murder, it raises the question of just what else he has exaggerated, or outright fabricated.
Just as importantly, there is an absence of collateral evidence that would support KSM's story. KSM claims he was "responsible for the 9/11 operation from A-Z." Yet he has omitted details that would support his role. For instance, one of the more intriguing mysteries is who recruited and vetted the fifteen Saudi hijackers, the so-called "muscle." The well-founded suspicion is that Qaeda was running a cell inside the Kingdom that spotted these young men and forwarded them to al-Qaeda. KSM and al-Qaeda often appear bumbling, but they would never have accepted recruits they couldn't count on. KSM does not offer us an answer as to how this worked.
KSM has also not offered evidence of state support to al-Qaeda, though there is good evidence there was, even at a low level. KSM himself was harbored by a member of Qatar's royal family after he was indicted in the U.S. for the Bojinka plot — a plan to bomb twelve American airplanes over the Pacific. KSM and al-Qaeda also received aid from supporters in Pakistan, quite possibly from sympathizers in the Pakistani intelligence service. KSM provides no details that would suggest we are getting the full story from him.
Although he claims to have been al-Qaeda's foreign operations chief, he has offered no information about European networks. Today, dozens of investigations are going on in Great Britain surrounding the London tube bombings on July 7, 2005. Yet KSM apparently knew nothing about these networks or has not told his interrogators about them.
The fact is al-Qaeda is too smart to put all of its eggs in one basket. It has not and does not have a field commander, the role KSM has arrogated. It works on the basis of "weak links," mounting terrorist operations by bringing in people on an ad hoc basis, and immediately disbanding the group afterwards.
Until we hear more, the mystery of who KSM is and what he was responsible for is still a mystery.
Robert Baer, a former CIA field officer assigned to the Middle East, is the author of See No Evil and, most recently, the novel Blow the House Down
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treat this editorial
as limited hangout. I'm convinced all of this talk today about how "you can't believe everything KSM says" is classic limited hangout designed to make people believe that "yes, you can believe KSM confessed to 9/11, but take the rest with a grain of salt."
That is, I think the strategy here is to fill the airwaves with would-be cynicism about KSM's alleged confession, to make some of it sound legitimate when we have no reason to accept ANY of it.
Put the real KSM in front of an open court with a proper defense. Let the government make its case out in the open. Until a fair trial is heard, we have no reason to believe ANY of this.
Good point
and what happens when he is filmed saying "yes, I did 9/11."
I agree with you completely on an open trial with a proper defense, but sadly, he may not want a proper defense, or have the capacity to make one, even if he and his attorneys were given full ability to contest every bit of the government's case. And of they are not given full ability to contest, then KSM might have to take a deal to save his life.
Zlonk it!
A new 9/11 Truth Friendly Digg type site.
Zlonk it, Digg it, Reddit, Buzz it
JUST READ IT. The more of these rating sites that pop up the less effective they are. That is until someone invents the ratings aggregator, along the lines of internet search engine compilers...
Or better yet just email it to everyone you know with a little message about how important it is. If they agree they will send it along to THEIR friends, etc. It CAN be this easy!
____
♠
Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero
WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force
Zlonk it anyway!
Cuz Zlonk is going to be the number one rating site someday. Besides, I'm on your side. :)
Baer's first sentence is a doozy
He writes: "It's hard to tell what the Pentagon's objective really is in releasing the transcript of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession. It certainly suggests the Administration is trying to blame KSM for al-Qaeda terrorism, leading us to believe we've caught the master terrorist and that al-Qaeda, and especially the ever-elusive bin Laden, is no longer a threat to the U.S."
Never in a million years does this administration want al-Qaeda to no longer be a threat. Jesus, Bear, get a clue. How could Baer even suggest that's what the administration wants us to think? Without al-Qaeda, the administration can't continue with their "war on terror." Starting off the article with that ridiculous assumption of the administration's intent is just absurd on the face of it.
But of course KSM's "confession" is false. Of course anyone with any sense would agree with Baer on that score. And, of course Baer knows a hell of a lot more about what's really going on than he'll ever admit. I smell disinfo, big time with this guy.
fair & balanced
Six months ago on September 15, 2006 President Bush had the following to say about the interrogation of the supposed mastermind behind 9/11:
"The information that the Central Intelligence Agency has obtained by questioning men like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has provided valuable information and has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including strikes within the United States. For example, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed described the design of planned attacks of buildings inside the U.S. and how operatives were directed to carry them out. That is valuable information for those of us who have the responsibility to protect the American people. He told us the operatives had been instructed to ensure that the explosives went off at a high -- a point that was high enough to prevent people trapped above from escaping."
President Bush - 15 Sep 2006 at the rose garden.
This entire press conference can still be seen, heard, and read at the White House's own website, yet no 'reporter' that day asked one follow up question in regards to this startling revelation. To this day (March 15 2007) the FBI: 10 Most Wanted List still does not mention the crimes of 9/11 anywhere under Usama Bin Laden. How is this possible with the Bin Laden confession tape and the confessions (for months and years now!!!) from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed some now DECLASSIFIED as of yesterday! Who's writing these scripts for the government? A translator is present yet the dialogue we read is in broken English. Can't the Pentagon hire better translators than that? Are the FBI and Pentagon still not speaking? Why is Usama not wanted for 9/11 when the Pentagon has a mountain of evidence to convict him? Is this the twilight zone?
Our government can declassify the interrogation of the supposed "Mastermind of 9/11" yet can't release a few photographs shown to Popular Mechanics about the mystery damage to World Trade Center building 7. Likewise our government still refuses to release any of the dozens of videos form the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 (except for one horrible few second clip.) And now we're supposed to believe for reasons of "national security" a few pictures and video from five and a half years ago can't be released for our safety yet this "interrogation" of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is ok to read. Let freedom ring.
Wasn't it about $15000 to get all the videos and images from
the collection?
Surely we can muster that up.
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911dvds@gmail.com - $1 DVDs shipped - email for info
KSM target built after 9/11
Check this RawStory piece out. It seems that the people who drew up the KSM confession made an big error.
http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlargely.c...
Terrorists Don't Lie!
Give me a freakin' break!
----
Ad hominem per factum, beyotch!
You are undeservedly egotistical.... often laughably so.
Pseudo-intellectuality does not behoove you.
Important: Huge Problem with
Important: Huge Problem with KSM Confession
At Largely
Friday, March 16, 2007
In his confession, KSM claims:
"I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing for the New (or Second) Wave of attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9/11: ...Plaza Bank, Washington state"
The Plaza Bank was not founded until 2006 according to their official Web site:
" Founded in early 2006, with a vision of creating the leading commercial bank in the Pacific Northwest, Plaza Bank’s story quickly captured the hearts and passion of some of the region’s leading business minds. From Jack Creighton, former CEO of Weyerhaeuser and United Airlines, to former Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez, and nationally acclaimed salon operator Gene Juárez, the story of a bank founded to bring “class to the mass” simply could not be contained."
I think we can say for quite certain that whomever is being held as KSM was either caught recently or that his entire confession is a fraud.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2007/160307Problem.htm
Rosie O'Donnell, Paul
Rosie O'Donnell, Paul Steiger Are Skeptical About Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Rachel Sklar
Huffington Post
Friday, March 16, 2007
Yesterday, news broke that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, had confessed to masterminding and committing a long list of terrorist acts, including 9/11, the Bali bombing, and the violent murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. He also led plots to assassinate Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and the Pope. Mohammed, who has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2003, said that his confessions had not been made under duress. Still, he confessed to a whole lot of stuff. Which has made some people raise an eyebrow.
One of those people was Rosie O'Donnell on The View, who seemed troubled by his long period of captivity and more than a bit skeptical:
I think the man has been in custody of the American government, in secret CIA torture prisons in Guantanamo Bay, where torture is accepted and allowed, and he finally is the guy who admits to doing everything. They finally found the guy. It's not that guy bin Laden. It's this guy they've had since '93. And look, this is the picture they released of him. Doesn't he look healthy?
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2007/160307Skeptical.htm