Martyrdom for Moussaoui?

Conspirator's Aim Unclear, but Death Could Have Wide Impact

A drawing shows Zacarias Moussaoui refusing to stand Monday as his eligibility for the death penalty is announced. (By Dana Verkouteren -- Associated Press)

When Zacarias Moussaoui agreed to plead guilty to terrorism conspiracy charges last year, he told the judge he would accept a death sentence and acknowledged he was headed toward "the gas chamber or the lethal injection."

Two days later, Moussaoui vowed to "fight every inch against the death penalty."

Last week, he seemed to reverse course again, implicating himself in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist plot when he took the stand at his death penalty hearing. That was before he screamed, "You'll never get my blood!" Monday after jurors found him eligible for execution.

Moussaoui's own words have raised questions about whether he wants to be executed to achieve martyrdom for the terrorist cause that he so passionately embraces. Experts on al-Qaeda and Islam think he does. Moussaoui's flip-flops on the subject make it impossible to be sure.

Yet if the Sept. 11 conspirator is indeed seeking martyrdom, it could have implications inside and outside the courtroom as jurors return to U.S. District Court in Alexandria tomorrow to begin the final phase of Moussaoui's sentencing trial.

When the United States sought death in 2001 for two convicted al-Qaeda terrorists for bombing U.S. embassies in East Africa, jurors voted to spare their lives. Ten jurors noted on the verdict form that executing one of the men could "make him a martyr" for terrorist groups.

In Islamic tradition, martyrdom means dying in a way deserving of paradise. Osama bin Laden believes that can be achieved through suicide operations. An al-Qaeda training manual, introduced as evidence at Moussaoui's trial, states that members must "be willing to do the work and undergo martyrdom for the purpose of achieving the goal and establishing the religion of majestic Allah on earth."

Some legal experts believe that's exactly what could happen if the Moussaoui jury votes to put him to death. "There's absolutely no doubt that executing him would turn him into a martyr," said Bruce Hoffman, who has studied terrorism at the Rand Corp. for 25 years.

Hoffman said terrorist groups have historically seized on martyred comrades for propaganda and to boost recruitment. Moussaoui's execution would have the same impact, he said.

"It's time for our government to be thinking about the wider repercussions," Hoffman said.

Others who track terrorist groups disagreed, noting that testimony from al-Qaeda leaders read at Moussaoui's trial portray him as a troublemaker who couldn't get along with his bosses. "I think some people might attempt to turn him into a martyr but with very little success. Even al-Qaeda cut this guy loose," said Peter Bergen, who has written two books about bin Laden's group.

"He might get the worst of all possible worlds," Bergen said. "He gets executed, which is his desire, and al-Qaeda, because this guy was fairly problematic, doesn't turn him into a martyr for the movement."

Moussaoui, 37, pleaded guilty last year to conspiring with al-Qaeda in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. He is the only person convicted in a U.S. courtroom on charges stemming from Sept. 11. After a three-week trial, federal jurors Monday said Moussaoui was eligible for execution, finding that his lies to federal agents when he was arrested in August 2001 allowed the attacks to go forward.

In the trial's second phase, jurors will decide whether Moussaoui should be put to death or remain in prison for life.

The French citizen seemed to embrace execution when he told the government and U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema last year that he intended to plead guilty. At an April 20 hearing, Brinkema reminded Moussaoui that he had notified her two days earlier that he wanted "to accept the death penalty, which seems to be totally contradictory to the position you've taken in the past."

The judge added that Moussaoui had "made reference to the concept of martyrdom," according to a transcript.

Moussaoui responded that he had come to understand that "the course I've chosen will lead me potentially -- you say potentially, I say surely, but it's a matter of opinion -- to the gas chamber or the lethal injection. I understand this fact. I understand life and death."

Two days later, as he pleaded guilty, Moussaoui told Brinkema he had "significantly changed my position following the advice I receive from you. . . . I will not apply for death."

Yet courtroom observers thought that's precisely what Moussaoui was doing March 27 when he testified at his sentencing trial. He calmly told jurors that he wanted to kill every American, starting with what he said was his mission to fly a fifth hijacked airplane into the White House on Sept. 11. He also admitted to the government's key argument against him: that he had lied to the FBI to allow the plot to go forward.

Moussaoui said he knew his mission would be a suicide operation. Richard Bulliet, an expert on Islam at Columbia University, said Moussaoui apparently still wants to be a martyr. He said Moussaoui's testimony against himself fits with the Islamic doctrine of "purity of intent."

"If he dies with his intent clearly stated and pure and devoted to religious goals, then the chances of his being a martyr in his mind are greatly improved," Bulliet said.

Other experts noted that terrorists who go to prison for life, such as Ramzi Yousef -- architect of the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 -- are rarely heard from again. "Moussaoui could achieve a fame and notoriety in death that eluded him in life," Hoffman said. "In life, he was a failed terrorist."

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.