In a long-awaited development, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, has agreed to plead guilty, according to the Defense Department. Mohammed, along with accomplices Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter their pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as early as next week.
Request for Life Sentences
Lawyers for the defense have requested that the men receive life sentences in exchange for the guilty pleas, as stated in letters from the federal government received by relatives of some of the nearly 3,000 people killed on the morning of Sept. 11. Terry Strada, the head of one group of families of the direct victims of the 9/11 attacks, called the defendants “cowards” when she heard news of the plea agreement.
Plea Bargains
Details of the plea bargain have not been revealed by Pentagon officials. This agreement comes over 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaida’s attack, and more than 20 years after the hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The fourth plane, headed for Washington, crashed into a Pennsylvania field when crew members and passengers attempted to take control of the cockpit. These attacks were the catalyst for President George W. Bush’s administration to launch its war on terror, leading to the U.S. military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Alleged Mastermind
Mohammed is pointed to by U.S. authorities as the source of the idea to use planes as weapons. He allegedly received approval from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to plan what would become the 9/11 hijackings and killings. Bin Laden was later killed by U.S. forces in 2011.
The Use of Torture
While in CIA custody, Mohammed was subjected to waterboarding 183 times, along with other forms of torture and coercive questioning. The use of torture has significantly delayed U.S. efforts to try the men in the military commission at Guantanamo, due to the inadmissibility of evidence linked to abuse.
Call to Close Guantanamo
Upon hearing the news, Daphne Eviatar, a director at the Amnesty International USA rights group, welcomed the accountability but urged the Biden administration to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Many individuals taken into custody in the so-called war on terror have since been cleared, but are awaiting approval to leave for other countries.
Justice Delayed
For many families, the guilty pleas have been a long time coming. Michael Burke, a family member who received notice of the plea bargain, condemned the long wait for justice and the outcome. He compared the process to the Nuremberg trials, which took just months or a year to conclude.
Burke lost his brother, Billy Burke, a New York City fire captain, in the collapse of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He criticized the fact that 23 years after the attacks, the perpetrators are now negotiating plea deals to avoid the death penalty and serve life sentences instead.
