911 plotters

MONDAY 8 DECEMBER 2008 Alleged 9/11 Plotters Offer to Confess at Guantánamo by: William Glaberson, The New York Times

What convenient timing . . . but a later session requested by Judge Henley?

MONDAY 8 DECEMBER 2008

Alleged 9/11 Plotters Offer to Confess at Guantánamo

by: William Glaberson, The New York Times

Guantánamo Bay, Cuba - All five of the Guantánamo detainees charged with planning and coordinating the Sept. 11 attacks have asked a military judge to accept their confessions in full. The request appeared to be intended to cut short any effort to try them, and to challenge the United States government to put them to death.

At the start of what had been expected to be routine proceedings Monday, the military judge, Col. Steven Henley, disclosed that he had received a written statement from the five men. The statement said the five planned to stop filing written motions and instead "to announce our confessions to plea in full."

As he questioned one of the men, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has described himself as the mastermind of the 2001 attacks, Judge Henley of the United States Army asked whether Mr. Mohammmed was prepared to enter pleas to the charges against him today. "Yes," Mr. Mohammed answered brusquely.

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