Khalid Sheik Mohammad

Khalid Sheik Mohammad is an al Qaeda suspect who has claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks. On March 1, 2003, Mohammed was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and transferred to U.S. custody. In September 2006, he "was among 14 prisoners identified by U.S. authorities as 'high-value' terrorism suspects and transferred" to Guantanamo from "secret CIA prisons abroad." 

Claims of terrorist acts
Khalid Sheik Mohammad "admitted a key role in 31 attacks carried out or planned by" Al Qaeda, including the following:


 * "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z"
 * "'I was the military operational commander for all foreign operations around the world,' under the leadership of Osama bin Laden, Mohammed said in a statement read to a March 10 tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by a U.S. military officer acting as his personal representative."
 * Beheading of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and killed in Pakistan in 2002.
 * Nightclub bombing in Bali, Indonesia.
 * Attempting "to down two American airplanes using shoe bombs".

Credibility of claims
"Some intelligence experts questioned the credibility Mohammed's claims to have been involved in so many plots against targets ranging from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to London landmark Big Ben.

"Former CIA official Robert Baer said Mohammed's rambling testimony raised suspicions about his treatment at the hands of CIA interrogators.

"'Once you rough up a witness with waterboarding, they figure out what narrative you want and that's the narrative they tell. And that suspicion is always going to be out there. That's what we're left with,' Baer said," Andrew Gray reported for Reuters March 15, 2007.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Global War on Terrorism
 * Jundullah
 * war on terrorism

Profiles

 * "Profile: Al-Qaeda 'kingpin'," BBC, updated March 15, 2007.
 * Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, 9-11 Mastermind and here, GlobalSecurity.org.
 * Profile: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, DiscoverTheNetwork.org.
 * Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in the Wikipedia.

2002

 * "Dancing girls and romance on road to terrorist attacks," Los Angeles Times (Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)), June 24, 2002.
 * B. Raman, "Smoking al-Qaeda out of Karachi," Asia Times, September 17, 2002.

2003

 * Rory McCarthy and Jason Burke, "Top 9/11 suspect seized in Pakistan," The Observer (UK), March 2, 2003.
 * B. Raman, "How significant is Khalid Sheikh's arrest?" Rediff.com, March 3, 2003.
 * "Officials: Alleged al Qaeda paymaster in custody. U.S. hunts al Qaeda operatives in U.S.," CNN, March 4, 2003.
 * B. Raman, "Mystery surrounding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," Global Research, March 4, 2003.
 * B. Raman, "Arrest of Khalid: Another of Hydra's heads?" Asia Times, March 4, 2003.
 * B. Raman, "Khalid capture: Truths and half truths," Asia Times, March 5, 2003.
 * Paul Thompson, "The "Capture" Of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Is there more to the capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed than meets the eye?" Scoop (New Zealand), March 5, 2003.
 * Elaine Shannon and Michael Weisskopf, "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Names Names," TIME Magazine, March 24, 2003.
 * "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed: life of terror," CNN, September 23, 2003.
 * Asra Q. Nomani, "Who really killed Danny Pearl? U.S officials now say the killer is the mastermind behind 9/11. But, says the reporter Pearl was staying with, certain American allies need to be investigated as well," Salon, October 22, 2003.

2004

 * Paul Martin, "Chicago, L.A. towers were next targets," Washington Times, March 30, 2004.
 * Phillip Carter, "Tainted by Torture. How evidence obtained through coercion is undermining the legal war on terrorism," Slate, May 14, 2004.
 * Dan Eggen, "9/11 Report Says Plotter Saw Self as Superterrorist," Washington Post, July 27, 2004.
 * "AL QAEDA AIMS AT THE AMERICAN HOMELAND," 9/11 Commission Report, September 20, 2004 (site frozen).
 * "Eleven Detainees in Undisclosed Locations," Human Rights Watch, October 2004.
 * Dana Priest and Scott Higham, "At Guantanamo, a Prison within a Prison," Washington Post (truthout), December 17, 2004.

2005

 * "List of 'Ghost Prisoners' Possibly in CIA Custody," Human Rights Watch, December 1, 2005.

2006

 * Jonathan Karl, "'High-Value' Detainees Transferred to Guantanamo," ABC News, September 6, 2006.
 * Timothy J. Burger and Adam Zagorin, "Fingering Danny Pearl's Killer," TIME Magazine, October 12, 2006.

2007

 * "At Gitmo detainee hearings, no journalists allowed," CNN, March 6, 2007.
 * Steve Watson, "CIA's 'Ghosts' On Trial. Secrecy surrounds trials of documented intelligence assets and go betweens," inforwars.net, March 8, 2007.
 * "Key hearings open at Guantanamo," BBC, March 9, 2007.
 * William Macklin, "Transcript: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Admits Planning 9/11 Attacks," All Headline News, March 15, 2007.
 * Satyam Khenna, "Pentagon Redacted Statements of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Discussing Torture," Think Progress, March 15, 2007.
 * Andrew Gray, "9/11 suspect says he beheaded U.S. reporter - Pentagon," Reuters, March 15, 2007.
 * Robin Stringer and Paul Tighe, "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Says He Was Sept. 11 Plotter (Update2)," Bloomberg News, March 15, 2007.
 * Matthew Lee, "Mohammed Confesses to Many Terror Plots," Associated Press (MSNBC), March 15, 2007.
 * William Windrem, "The undoing of al-Qaida's 'James Bond'. Muslim spy behind CIA's biggest victory in war on terror," NBC News/MSNBC, March 15, 2007.
 * Larisa Alexandrovna, "Where is Waldo, err, Khalid Sheik Mohammed?" The Huffington Post, March 15, 2007.
 * Josh Meyer, "Was Khalid Shaikh Mohammed playing to the jury? Experts say the Sept. 11 mastermind's chatty testimony was intended to state his case to the American public," Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2007.