A Blog For All - Comments - Keep it civil
Something doesnt make sence. Reid was in Europe in September 2001. as a matter of fact, I think they reported he was in Israel, then Amsterdam in early 2001. He did not try to come to this Country to December 2001. How does this all fit? Soemone who was supposed to take part in the attacks was out of hte country when the attacks took place?
Its more probable that Moussaoui was supposed to be aboard one of the 4 planes that were hijacked that day, not a 5th plane.
This smakes of something wierd!
Ok, maybe its the cynical lawyer in me, but this smells. Fromthe AP article linked in your post:
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Laying out a stunning new version of his terrorist mission, al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui testified Monday that he was supposed to hijack a fifth jetliner on Sept. 11, 2001, with would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid and fly it into the White House.
But the jury also heard the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, now in U.S. custody, repeatedly state that Moussaoui was to be a part of a second wave of attacks unrelated to Sept. 11. In a 58-page statement read to jurors, Shaikh Mohammed said that he only wanted Middle Easterners for Sept. 11 so that Europeans like Moussaoui stood a better chance of mounting a subsequent attack after security was increased.
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Then came the shock.
Defense attorney Gerald Zerkin: "Before your arrest, were you scheduled to pilot a plane as part of the 9/11 operation?"
Moussaoui: "Yes. I was supposed to pilot a plane to hit the White House."
He said he didn't know details of the other hijackings set for that day except that planes were to be flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
Zerkin asked if he knew who else would be on his plane.
"Richard Reid. The other crew members were not definite," Moussaoui replied, referring to a man he had met in the 1990s at London's Finsbury Park mosque, where Islamic fundamentalists recruited followers.
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This is a classic example of implanting reasonable doubt in a juror's mind. First you have one witness (Khalid Shaikh Mohammed) say one thing then you have Moussaoui testify differently. Now the Jurors are saying, Umm, who do we believe? Thats reasonabe doubt and enough to spare his life.
This needs to be watched more closely!
I agree that the Richard Reid angle was likely a bluff/bs, but he did this as a calculated move.
The question is what his endgame was.
Am I paranoid or could he be creating all of this in order to protect the "2nd wave of attacks" that have yet to unfold? We know that Al Queda is patient... This really creeps me out.
Also, I think he probably didn't really know the details regarding 9/11. As for Reed, I think there is much more to the story. Where are the sleeper cells?
I hate to bring this up, but I truly believe there is SO much that the Bush Administration is not telling us. Maybe if they weren't so tight-lipped, there'd be more support for the war.
Lindsey
There are any number of reasons that the Administration isn't talking about additional plots - they don't want to panic people, they don't know what they don't know (namely haven't uncovered plots that are already underway), and operational security on those intel operations that are successful and providing intel that helps keep the country secure.
I wouldn't put much stock into the Richard Reid namedropping as it was more likely for shock value and name dropping than for providing facts.
Moussaoui is a serial liar and one would be hard pressed to tell what statements he's made that are truthful or not. His utter disdain for the US and the US legal system, combined with is utter inability to tell the truth, means that we can only tell that he's an enemy of the US, not whether he was part of the 9/11 plot or any other plot unless corroborated by other sources.
"Moussaoui is a serial liar and one would be hard pressed to tell what statements he's made that are truthful or not. His utter disdain for the US and the US legal system, combined with is utter inability to tell the truth, means that we can only tell that he's an enemy of the US, not whether he was part of the 9/11 plot or any other plot unless corroborated by other sources."
And that my friend, leads to reasonable doubt and spares his miserable life!
Here's a question for the legal experts out there:
If they DO spare Moussaoui's life, and he doesn't get to become a martyer, can they at least do something special for him in prison? For example, I'd like to see him locked up for life, but have an "extra" penalty like maybe they could feed him pork intraveneously. Maybe then he wouldn't go to Moslem heaven? That would piss him off I think.
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