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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (18687)	3/28/2006 9:27:32 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Moussaoui Testifies He And Shoe-Bomber Richard Reid Were To Crash Fifth Airplane Into White House posted by Ace Ace of Spades HQ The AP report. <<< Al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui testified Monday that he and would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid were supposed to hijack a fifth airplane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House. Moussaoui's testimony on his own behalf stunned the courtroom as he disclosed details he had never revealed before. It was in stark contrast to Moussaoui's previous statements in which he said the White House attack was to come later if the United States refused to release a radical Egyptian sheik imprisoned on earlier terrorist convictions. Moussaoui testified Monday he lied to investigators when arrested in August 2001 because he wanted to let the attacks of Sept. 11 go forward. "Yes, you can say that," Moussaoui said when the prosecution asked if that was why he misled them. The statement was key to the government's case that the attacks might have been averted if Moussaoui had been more cooperative following his arrest. He told the court he knew the attacks were coming some time after August 2001 and bought a radio so he could hear them unfold. Specifically, he said he knew the World Trade Center was going to be attacked, but asserted he was not part of the plot and didn't know the details. Taking the stand in his own defense in his death-penalty trial, Moussaoui said he declined to become a suicide pilot in some future attack when asked by a senior al-Qaida official in 1999. >>> So... he's admitting he knew about the attack, and was asked to be part of the attack, but refused? This is pretty pathetic: <<< Just before Moussaoui took the stand, the court heard testimony that two months before the attacks that a CIA deputy chief waited in vain for permission to tell the FBI about a "very high interest" al-Qaida operative who became one of the hijackers. The official, a senior figure in the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit, said he sought authorization on July 13, 2001, to send information to the FBI but got no response for 10 days, then asked again. As it turned out, the information on Khalid al-Mihdhar did not reach the FBI until late August. At the time, CIA officers needed permission from a special unit before passing certain intelligence on to the FBI. The official was identified only as John. His written testimony was read into the record. "John's" testimony was part of the defense's case that federal authorities missed multiple opportunities to catch hijackers and perhaps thwart the 9/11 plot. His testimony included an e-mail sent by FBI supervisor Michael Maltbie discussing Moussaoui but playing down his terrorist connections. Maltbie's e-mail said "there's no indication that (Moussaoui) had plans for any nefarious activity." >>> I wonder if that guy has been fired. I bet $1000 he hasn't been. Jenifer Loven will soon file a "news analysis" piece about Moussaoui's dynamite admissions, in which she examines Bush's use of the "appeal to authority" logical fallacy in his speeches. ace.mu.nu breitbart.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18687)	3/28/2006 10:10:38 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Moussaoui: I Would Have Hit The White House By Captain Ed on War on Terror Captain's Quarters Zacarias Moussaoui stunned a courtroom today when he confessed, or rather proclaimed, that he intended on participating in a fifth hijacking on 9/11 and destroying the White House before his capture in August 2001. Disputing the intelligence given by 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Moussaoui told the court that he had repeatedly lied to the FBI to protect the operational integrity of the 9/11 plot and to confuse American investigators afterward: <<< Zacarias Moussaoui testified in Federal District Court here today that he knew of Al Qaeda's plans to fly jetliners into the World Trade Center and that he was to have piloted an airliner into the White House on Sept. 11, 2001. Taking the stand before the jury that will determine whether he is put to death or spends the rest of his life in prison, Mr. Moussaoui related in calm, measured language that he was to have been accompanied on his death-dive into the White House by Richard C. Reid, the so-called shoe bomber, among others. ... Mr. Moussaoui, whose previous courtroom behavior has sometimes consisted of belligerent ravings, was calm in the early going today. But though he was unemotional, the question of "what might have been" arose almost inevitably from his appearance. He readily admitted that he lied to investigators after his arrest in Minnesota on immigration charges a few weeks before the attacks because he did not want to plot to be uncovered. And asked by Mr. Spencer whether he eagerly awaited the attacks, he replied, "Yes, you can say that." Mr. Moussaoui matter-of-factly admitted knowing 17 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers, having become acquainted with most of them in Afghanistan, where he said traveled often to confer with Al Qaeda's leaders. >>> If Moussaoui told the truth today, then we can speculate that Flight 93's target was Capitol Hill, the other major target in Washington DC. That makes some sense. Al-Qaeda would have wanted to decapitate the US government as well as its financial leadership, making five targets overall. The strike on both Capitol Hill and the White House would under ordinary circumstances accomplish that, along with the hit on the Pentagon. However, the planners miscalculated in several respects. The plane that hit the Pentagon did not have enough force to destroy the building , or even the section it hit, thanks to a bungled approach that bounced off the freeway just across from the impact point and slowed the plane. George Bush wasn't at the White House that day, having gone to Florida on a mundane but well-reported tour touting his education policy. Congress was in session that day, but a number of representatives were outside of the building that early in the morning. All of this hinges on whether Moussaoui told the truth today. We probably will never know, but it seems unlikely. He had just started his pilot training when his strange behavior and requests aroused suspicion. The other pilots had long before received the training they got for their mission. Most of the intelligence gleaned from other sources put Moussaoui in a less-important role of a standby, and Reid wound up on a very different kind of mission three months later, not keeping with the long prep times that AQ usually conducts. I'm rather suspicious of the testimony today, and in the absence of corroboration, I'm inclined to chalk this up to a streak of egotistical, suicidal idiocy on Moussaoui's part. He clearly wants to die a martyr's death, and with the government case hitting some road bumps, he may have started to worry that a jury would just let him rot in a Supermax facility in the Midwest for the rest of his life. What better way to ensure one's 72 virgins than to claim a leading role in the world's worst terrorist attack? I think a 1,000-year sentence may sound like the correct solution instead. captainsquartersblog.com nytimes.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18687)	3/28/2006 1:28:48 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Why We Need the Patriot Act Posted by John Power Line You've probably already heard that Zacarias Moussaoui testified today that he and shoe-bomber Richard Reid had intended to hijack a fifth airplane on September 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House. That part of the plot was ostensibly foiled by Moussaoui's arrest in August. Well, maybe. Reid didn't try to come to the U.S. until October, but maybe he would have flown over sooner had Moussaoui not been arrested. We may never know exactly what al Qaeda had in mind for Moussaoui--in fact, he may not know--but it is entirely possible that he was supposed to be part of the Sept. 11 attacks. More interesting to me, frankly, was the testimony of a "senior figure in the CIA's Laden unit" identified only as "John": <<< [T]he court heard testimony that two months before the attacks a CIA deputy chief waited in vain for permission to tell the FBI about a "very high interest" al-Qaida operative who became one of the hijackers. The official, a senior figure in the CIA's Laden unit, said he sought authorization on July 13, 2001, to send information to the FBI but got no response for 10 days, then asked again. As it turned out, the information on Khalid al-Mihdhar did not reach the FBI until late August. At the time, CIA officers needed permission from a special unit before passing certain intelligence on to the FBI. [John's] testimony included an e-mail sent by FBI supervisor Michael Maltbie discussing Moussaoui but playing down his terrorist connections. Maltbie's e-mail said "there's no indication that (Moussaoui) had plans for any nefarious activity." He sent that e-mail to the CIA even after receiving a lengthy memo from the FBI agent who arrested Moussaoui and suspected him of being a terrorist with plans to hijack aircraft. >>> September 11 presumably cured the obtuseness of the FBI supervisor who didn't take Moussaoui seriously, but it's only the Patriot Act that allows full communication between domestic law enforcement agencies and the CIA. Thank goodness the Democrats didn't succeed in killing the Patriot Act, as Harry Reid once boasted. powerlineblog.com startribune.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18687)	4/4/2006 12:26:23 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

JUSTICE FOR MOUSSAOUI NEW YORK POST Editorial April 4, 2006 After nearly four days of deliberations, a federal jury yesterday ruled that al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty for his role in the 9/11 attacks. This doesn't mean that he'll actually be sentenced to death, however richly he may deserve it. Future court action will decide whether Moussaoui finally gets strapped to a gurney. With their verdict, the jurors unanimously found that Moussaoui intentionally lied to the FBI agents who interrogated him in August 2001, that he lied with lethal intent and that his lies directly resulted in at least one death in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Now they will hear testimony on the next step: determining whether he deserves capital punishment. But that decision seems a no-brainer. Moussaoui stunned the court last week by reversing his statements and admitting that he had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks - indeed, that his mission, until he was caught, had been to fly another hijacked jetliner into the White House. Yes, the path to a Moussaoui execution is a long, drawn-out series of proceedings. But that should put the lie to anyone who suggests that he is being railroaded - indeed, that the criminal-justice system is doing anything other than bending over backward to ensure his rights. That's ironic, of course, given that Moussaoui serves a movement that dispenses "justice" by summarily - and publicly - sawing off people's heads. It's frustrating that Moussaoui is the only person so far to stand trial for actions directly linked to the 9/11 attacks. But it's a measure of satisfaction that he's on the way to getting precisely the punishment he deserves. After hearing the verdict, Moussaoui snarled: "You'll never get my blood. God curse you all." Time will tell. nypost.com

To: Sully- who wrote (18687)	4/4/2006 4:29:41 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

The Moussaoui Verdict: What Does It Mean? Posted by John Power Line The jury in the death penalty phase of Zacarias Moussaoui's criminal trial found today that he was legally responsible for at least one September 11-related death, thereby potentially clearing the way for him to be executed. The same jury will now deliberate whether to recommend death or life imprisonment. For most Americans, executing a would-be terrorist like Moussaoui probably isn't very controversial. But the case has some interesting wrinkles. Moussaoui didn't participate in the September 11 attacks--he was in jail--so the theory is that the attacks could have been prevented if he had told the truth to investigators. For some, that theory is highly troublesome. Fox News quotes law professor Jonathan Turley: <<< "I find the decision of the jury to be very problematic," said Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School. "I do not see in the evidence any basis to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that had Moussaoui revealed what he knew, we would have prevented 9/11." If Moussaoui is executed for lying about a crime he did not commit, a dangerous precedent will be set, Turley said. In that event, a Supreme Court challenge could be on the horizon. "He's basically being put to death for the act of omission. There would be no limit to how far this type of theory could be used," Turley said. >>> Well, there are some obvious limits, I think. I don't think Turley's point is frivolous; intuitively, executing a man for a crime that he did not participate in seems questionable. But if we assume that Moussaoui was a co-conspirator, there is nothing novel about holding him responsible for the acts of his confederates. I think the concern about this case arises, at least in part, from the fact that it is not clear that Moussaoui did know about the September 11 attacks in advance. He made the jury's job easier by testifying that he did: <<< [L]ast week, Moussaoui appeared to drop a bombshell in the case when he testified that he knew about the attacks ahead of time and that he and failed shoe-bomber Richard Reid were slated to hijack a fifth airliner and crash it into the White House. >>> I don't know what he knew or didn't know, but his claim about Reid seems suspect. Reid didn't try to enter the U.S. until October. Moussaoui may be put to death someday, but not for a very long time, given the inevitable appeals. It seems likely that he testified that he knew about the September 11 plot because he wanted to be a martyr, but that won't prevent him from fighting execution every step of the way. In the end, the verdict the jury reached today probably won't mean much, one way or the other. powerlineblog.com