Trying to Silence the Critics of Guantanamo

The confession of al Qaida No. 3 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed may be exactly what Washington wanted. But Guantanamo's history makes his admission suspect, Peter Philipp warns

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was one of the 14 most important people on the United States' al Qaida most-wanted list – apparently he was No. 3 after Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. But since he was arrested and handed over to US authorities in Pakistan four years ago, his trail had disappeared into the thickets of the US intelligence services. Apparently, until last autumn, he was held in one of the controversial CIA prisons, and then brought to Guantanamo.

That was where the news broke that Sheikh Mohammed had made a confession: He was responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and had planned and carried out dozens of other terror attacks.

For Washington, this is sure to be a convenient confession. The existence of CIA prisons and the prison at Guantanamo are criticized around the world, and, until now, the US has found it difficult to silence the critics.

US breach of international law

What they are doing with "suspected al Qaida terrorists" clearly contravenes international law, and it has been shown more than once in past years that innocent people are incarcerated there - without legal counsel and without any chance of parole, unless Washington loses interest in them (as in the case of German-born Turk Murat Kurnaz, who spent four years in Guantanamo before being released without charge in 2006).

It's different in the case of Sheikh Mohammed, however. Previously, there was no clear confession. Now, Washington can use this new confession to defend its actions in Guantanamo.

After all, an admitted terrorist can't count on getting much public sympathy if he is responsible for the death of thousands and admits to having planned the death of thousands more. By publishing – partially – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession, the US is clearly hoping to silence the critics of Guantanamo.

What about the rule of law?

But that will not necessarily work. Even a person like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should have his day in an actual court and not be tried by a commission, far from the public eye. Given everything we know about Guantanamo, we can assume that prisoners there face abuse, or at least massive psycho-terror – the exact opposite of what is expected from a state that observes the rule of law.

Officials have refused to answer the questions of whether Sheikh Mohammed was tortured, and whether his confession was given under pressure. But we know that Washington does not treat its prisoners all too gingerly, be it in Guantanamo or CIA prisons, and certainly not in the dungeons of cooperating states.

It goes without saying: Terrorists like Sheikh Mohammed must be rendered harmless. But it has to happen in a correct legal manner. When it comes to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, it is easy to doubt that this is the case.

Peter Philipp

Peter Philipp is Deutsche Welle's chief correspondent and a Middle East expert.

Qantara.de

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