Bubblehammerblog

During the Irish Troubles the Thatcher government passed a law prohibiting the media from broadcasting the voices of Irish Republican spokespeople. This was to deny republicans what the government called 'the oxygen of publicity'. So we witnessed on TV the odd spectacle of the likes of Gerry Adams explaining Sinn Fein policy in silence, while his words were read out by someone else, in a Northern Irish accent. It was daft, & made the government look ridiculous. But What it highlighted was the way that the State decides that its citizens are incapable of distinguishing information from propaganda. Our eyes & ears must be protected from exposure to certain views, because there are those among us who are impressionable & lack judgement, & might be in some part persuaded by them.

Some British Asians have found themselves being prosecuted, or losing their jobs, for visiting jihadist websites. We have to assume that, if you're a Muslim Asian, it is in fact illegal to investigate the reasons why some Muslims violently oppose American & British foreign policy. It's not illegal, but decidedly dangerous, for British Muslims to openly oppose, within their own communities, government actions, even when done so peacefully. Determined government pressure has been put on Muslims to accept the view that US & British actions in the Middle East & elsewhere are neither cause nor motivation for jihadist violence, even when such a view is obviously absurd. The public in general needs to get with the program, & accept that religious fanatics blow up themselves & others because 'they hate our freedoms'.

Launching Cruise missiles at crowded cities, & detonating explosive belts in busy markets, both result in exactly the same thing. The bloody bodies & ripped apart limbs of innocent civilians: mothers, fathers, sisters & brothers. Let's leave aside that fact that the former is far more effective in terms of numbers of victims. The people who instigate such actions are criminals.

Which brings me to Khalid Sheikh Muhammad - the Al Qa'ida 'mastermind' of the 911 attacks. Some will have seen the news photo of the dishevelled, unshaven, slack bellied KSM, (recall Saddam emerging from his rat-hole), being led into captivity by Pakistani police. Despite having one of the most gruesome terrorist rapsheets of modern times, the public knows little about him. Even less is known about the 19 hijackers who perpetrated the defining crime of our era. Hitler, Pol Pot, Charlie Manson, Geoffrey Dahmer, Harold Shipman...all the subject of endless fascination & speculation. But KSM's name barely registers on the street, let alone Mohammad Atta or Hani Hanjour. Odd.

I came across a transcript of the proceedings of KSM's 'Combatant Status Review Tribunal', which took place last March in Guantanamo. It can be found here:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Combatant_Tribunals.html

He claims to have been tortured while in detention, which immediately renders his testimony suspect. (Incidentally, Senator John McCain would know about the effectiveness of torture techniques - having made no less than 32 propaganda recordings for the North Vietnamese, telling listeners that he & his fellow pilots had been ordered to target schools & hospitals.)Here's KSM's confession, which I reproduce without comment:

1. I was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center Operation.
2. I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation. frm A to Z.
3. I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head.
4. I was responsible for the Shoe Bomber Operation to down two American airplanes.
5. I was responsible for the Filka Island Operation in Kuwait that killed two American soldiers.
6. I was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, which was frequented by British and Australian soldiers.
7. I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing the New (or Second) Wave attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9/11:
a. Library Tower, California.
b. Sears Tower, Chicago.
c. Plaza Bank, Washington State.
d. The Empire State Building, New York City.
8. I was responsible for planning, financing, and follow-up Operations to destroy American military vessels and oil tankers in the Staights of Hormuz, the Straights of Gibrater, and the Port of Singapore.
9. I was responsible for planning, training, surveying and financing for the Operation to bomb and destroy the Panama Canal.
10. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the assassination of several former American Presidents, including President Carter.
11. I was responsible for surveying, planning and financing for the bombing of suspension bridges in New York.
12. I was responsible for planning to destroy the Sears Tower by burning a few fuel or oil tanker trucks beneath it or around it.
13. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the operation to destroy Heathrow Airport, the Canary Wharf Building, and Big Ben on British soil.
14. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of many nightclubs frequented by British and American citizens on Thailand soil.
15. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the New York Stock Exchange and other financial targets after 9/11.
16. I was responsible for planning, financing and surveying for the destruction of buildings in the Israeli city of Elat by using airplanes leaving from Saudi Arabia.
17. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of American embassies in Indonesia, Australia, and Japan.
18.. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the Israeili embassy in India, Azerbaijan, the Philippines, and Australia.
19. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of an Israeli El -Al Airlines flight on Thailand soil departing from Bangkok Airport.
20. I was responsible for sending several Mujahadeen into Israel to conduct surveillance to hit several strategic targets deep in Israel.
21. I was responsible for the bombing of the hotel in Mombasa that is frequented by Jewish travelers via El-Al Airlines.
22. I was responsible for launching a Russian-made SA-7 surface-to-air missile on El-Al or other Jewish airliner departing from Mombasa.
23. I was responsible for planning and surveying to hit American targets in South Korea, such as American military bases and a few nightclubs frequented by American soldiers.
24. I was responsible for financial, excuse me, I was responsible for providing financial support to hit American, Jewish, and British targets in Turkey.
25. I was responsible for surveillance needed to hit nuclear power plants that generate electricity in several US states.
26. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing to hit NATO Headquarters in Europe.
27. I was responsible for the planning and surveying needed to execute Bojinka Operation, which was designed to down twelve American airplanes full of passengers. I personally monitored a round-trip, Manila to Seoul, Pan Am flight.
28. I was responsible for the assassination attempt against President Clinton during his trip to the Philippines in 1994 or 1995.
29. I shared responsibility for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul the second while he was visiting the Philippines.
30. I was responsible for the training and financing for the assassination of Pakistan's President Musharaf.
31. I was responsible for the attempt to destroy an American oil company owned by the Jewish former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, on the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

If you pick the broken English of KSM's rambling statement to the court, you'll notice that he ends it by expressing regret at the civilian deaths caused by the actions he claims resposibility for. This hardly qualifies him for sainthood, but it's not something I recall hearing Bush or Blair do.

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