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Mohammed's Words Gives Look Into His Mind
Two psychiatrists, who reviewed his statements, said he appears committed to his cause.
"There's no evidence in his statements that he has relinquished any sense of purpose or mission," said Michael Welner, an expert on terrorism and confessions and an associate professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine.
  Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan Saturday March 1, 2003 in this photo obtained by the Associated Press. Mohammed confessed to that attack and a string of others during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a transcript released Wednesday March 14, 2007 by the Pentagon. (AP Photo) (AP) PHOTOS |
In a statement read by an Air Force lieutenant colonel, designated as Mohammed's personal representative, Mohammed claimed responsibility for planning Sept. 11 and 30 other attacks, many of which were not carried out. After the list was read, a U.S. Navy captain serving as the tribunal president, immediately asked Mohammed if those were his words.
"Yes," Mohammed responded.
"I want to be clear, though, is that you were the author of that document," the president asked again.
"That's right," Mohammed insisted, adding at another point that he is an enemy of the United States.
"I see him as rather feisty and combative and nothing indicating a guy confessing things after being ... tortured," said Jerrold M. Post, director of the Political Psychology Program at George Washington University and a 21-year veteran of the CIA. "He's somewhat proudly stating, perhaps overstating, the extent of the operations he has been involved with."
Mohammed might be exaggerating the number of targets he intended to attack in order to spread "the message of fear," Post said.
Welner said Mohammed may have been misleading interrogators, mixing in information about false plots along with ones that were real.
"If he decides there is something he wants to misinform interrogators about he can do it, and only he will know he is doing it," Welner said. "It presents a tremendous challenge for law enforcement ... and the motive could be to divert investigators away from a more significant plot.
"He is still invested in his cause," Welner said. "He is still fighting his war. That's not going to change."
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On the Net:
Pentagon's transcript of hearing: http:/
