This bizarre statement appears at whitehouse.gov:
We have captured almost two-thirds of the known Al-Qaida leaders, including the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.Who is this mastermind of the September 11 attacks that has already been captured? I thought the mastermind was Osama bin Laden, and that only conspiracy theorists believed he had already been captured and that Bush was just waiting to reveal this once the election draws nearer. Is this another pre-emptive blunder?
Or are they seriously claiming that Saddam Hussein, who has been captured, was the mastermind behind 9/11? No wonder so many Americans are misinformed about the total lack of connection between Iraq and 9/11.
Perhaps they mean Zacarias Moussaoui, who also is in custody, and is believed to be the "20th hijacker" that never made it on board. But this makes no sense either, as I have never heard it reported that he was a "mastermind." If anyone within the nineteen hijackers has been touted as a "mastermind" it was Mohammed Atta, but he hasn't been captured, since he died with the other hijackers on 9/11.
Only Google can solve this riddle. I typed in: mastermind behind 9/11 and guess what I found? The very first link is entitled: Bush-The Mastermind behind 9/11.
But then the next two links mention Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as a possible mastermind. (Remember him? He's the one whose photo defines "sleeper cell".) Then in the next link Ayman al-Zawahri is listed as a possible mastermind. The next link agrees with my first impression, listing Osama bin Laden as the mastermind. But best of all is link number seven, Barbara Bush was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.
Anyway, perhaps Sleepy Khalid was the mastermind, but it seems to me that this remains to be shown. Let's put him on trial and establish such a fact before we vaguely tout it on a government website in a misleading way. Where is Khalid anyway? Nobody knows. He was a high-profile capture that made lots of news (over a year ago) and I'd bet not even reporters that follow this could tell you where we are holding him today. If that's the case for the high-profile captures, how many more nobodys have we got stored away somewhere, being tortured, or just holding them indefinitely without charges? This is not America. (Be sure to read that next-to-last link on the torture of Iraqi prisoners by the U.S. Military. Seymour Hersh has once again produced an amazing piece of journalism for the New Yorker.)
Don't get me wrong. I'm not defending the alleged actions of these guys. I just happen to actually believe in all that "rule of law" mumbo-jumbo that we toss around so casually. I believe that citizen or not, the simple dignity of human beings requires us not to torture prisoners, to charge prisoners with crimes for which we have sufficient evidence, to provide such individuals with adequate legal counsel, and to afford such individuals a fair trial. Instead, the Bush administration has us torturing prisoners, holding people indefinitely without charges, refusing to provide captives with adequate legal counsel, and offering no trials or sham justice they call "military tribunals." This is not likely to be a topic that would win hearts and minds in an election race, but I believe one of the best reasons to get rid of Bush in November is because we might be able to make some headway on these fundamental principles that are supposed to make our country great.
Update: It looks like the BBC and some international aid agencies have gotten worried about the locations of some of these people too. (New strategy for home readers: read Share Alike, and 19 days later, it'll be covered by the BBC too!) ;-)
Posted by Brian at May 2, 2004 12:21 AM | TrackBack