Posted on 09/27/2006 3:24:31 PM PDT by STARWISE
The top al-Qaida operative accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks either killed or took part in the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, Pakistan's president has alleged for the first time.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's claim, made in his memoirs released this week, could now be used to try clear one of Pearl's four convicted killers, who is appealing his death sentence, the prisoner's lawyer said Wednesday.
Musharraf accused Khalid Sheikh Mohammed of taking part in Pearl's killing in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, following the journalist's kidnapping on Jan. 23, 2002. Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and is in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay.
"The man who may have actually killed Pearl or at least participated in his butchery, we eventually discovered, was none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qaida's No. 3," Musharraf wrote in "In The Line of Fire," released Monday.
Mohammed has never been officially linked to Pearl's murder during police investigations or the trial that resulted in four Islamic militants being convicted for the killing. One of the men was sentenced to death, and the other three to life in prison.
But some U.S. officials and Pearl's newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, suggested that Mohammed had killed the journalist. Pakistan denied the claims at the time.
Musharraf also wrote that Mohammed helped lay the groundwork for the London subway bombings on July 7, 2005, and a plot to attack Heathrow Airport with hijacked passenger planes. It was the first public allegation linking Mohammed to the subway attacks, which killed 52 people and four bombers.
(snip)
Musharraf alleged in his memoir that Mohammed, a joint Pakistani-Kuwaiti citizen, admitted after being captured to participating in Pearl's killing.
Musharraf also recounted the May 2002 arrest of Karim, an activist from the al-Qaida-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, who led investigators to Pearl's body and admitted to being involved in his killing.
Musharraf wrote that police had asked how Karim knew where Pearl's body was buried.
"Chillingly, he replied - without remorse - that he knew because he had actually participated in the slaughter by holding one of Pearl's legs," Musharraf wrote.
But Karim told police that he did not know the name of Pearl's actual killer, only that he was "Arab-looking."
At the time, police identified Karim as one of the men who located Pearl's body. However, the police officially refused to confirm details and never charged him in the murder.
Karim disappeared shortly after leading investigators to Pearl's shallow grave. In April 2003, he surfaced in a small-town jail charged with possessing outlawed drugs. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Karim's lawyer, Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, questioned why his client was not charged in Pearl's murder despite "incriminating evidence" disclosed in Musharraf's book.
Musharraf detailed in his book how Sheikh plotted to kidnap Pearl, who was in Pakistan researching a story on Islamic militancy, by making the journalist believe he had arranged an interview with a militant leader in Karachi. Pearl was kidnapped the day he arrived in Karachi, and his remains were found Feb. 21, 2002.
His poor wife and family, having to live with those unspeakable images. God bless them .. and dear Lord, please weaken, disable and neutralize these evil savages.
And we have this thug in Gitmo. Can we torutre him now???
Hang him in a tribunal???
Yeah...I heard John Gibson talk about this...and referred back to the Congress....saying something like they should know what to do...hint hint.
But, I heard several Dems in the House go ballistic today..that Americans would NOT give all our rights to these thugs.
I wonder if Dennis Kucinich would like to go visit Pakistan anytime soon???
What will it take? A MArxist America with the Demoncraps in charge.
Then they'll just nuke the Middle East and shuffle all the "enemies of state" into the gas... I mean reorientation units.
Good news....Brit's panel ALL agreed that the dems are making a mistake by making such a fuss over this detainee legislation...and that was with 2 libs...Kondrake and Birnbaum...YAY
You got it. There's not a man or woman in America who really wants those animals roaming freely.
It's OK, the 'Rats and RINOs are doing their very best to ensure that the terrorist butchers who chopped up Daniel Pearl will always have 100% perfect rights to aid and comfort in captivity, including the "rights" to ample comforts and yummy diet, freedom of association with fellow scumbags, guarantees against any physical or emotional discomfort of any kind, ACLU lawyers who pass on terrorist notes, etc. etc.
The libs care far far more about their narcissistic pseudo-moral preening than they do about protecting Americans and winning the WOT.
ROFLOL! I heard a Republican on the floor of the House today (couldn't catch who) who said Democrats won't be happy until Americans read Miranda rights to Al Qaeda fighters they capture in battle!
Well, they could start with BJ....then the Hildebeast....then Begala....and Carvile....
They aren't called Dims for no reason.
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