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Saying His Prayers - Suspected Al Qaeda Mastermind Keeping Quiet on Terror Plans
abcnews ^ | 3-3-3 | Brian Ross

Posted on 03/03/2003 8:41:24 AM PST by Indy Pendance

March 3 — Suspected Sept. 11 planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is believed to command a global network of al Qaeda terrorists, but in the three days since his arrest he has refused to tell interrogators anything about planned attacks, instead reciting the Koran to himself, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS.

Mohammed was questioned for a third day by U.S. and Pakistani agents today. Analysts said interrogators were seeking details of any planned al Qaeda attacks and leads on the whereabouts of the world's most-wanted man, Osama bin Laden.

Though the arrest of Mohammed in Pakistan on Saturday has been described as the biggest coup yet in the war on terror, he has so far refused to answer any questions, and the computers and cell phones seized during the arrest have not yielded the wealth of information that officials had hoped they would, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS.

Authorities plan to try to get him to open up by using sleep deprivation and psychological disorientation, U.S. officials said.

Mohammed's willingness to talk and the skills and methods of interrogators are expected to be key factors in determining whether the CIA can learn anything useful from the alleged planner of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Captured in a raid in the city of Rawalpindi, he is now believed to be in U.S. custody at a military base in the region. The Pakistani government, however, said Mohammed remained in Pakistani custody, and denied reports that he had been moved out of the country.

A top priority in the questioning is gaining intelligence that could help disrupt attacks being planned or lead to added precautions, American officials said, and the arrest of Mohammed has already prompted a flurry of activity by the FBI targeting possible al Qaeda sympathizers.

That could mean a domestic law enforcement raid to break up a cell ready to strike, or tighter security at areas Mohammed might name as targets subject to imminent attacks. Intelligence about Mohammed's activities led in part to the orange, or "high," alert that lasted most of February, counterterrorism officials said.

Overseas, officials hope it could mean an operation that leads to the capture of bin Laden, the al Qaeda leader.

Possibility of Panic

Such information is just what he is most likely to try to keep secret, or lie about. Still, terrorists who learn of Mohammed's capture may alter their plans, abandon safe houses or make hurried telephone calls — actions that could expose them to detection.

A U.S. intelligence memo dated Feb. 26 warned Mohammed was overseeing plans to have al Qaeda operatives in the United States attack suspension bridges, gas stations and power plants in New York and other major cities, Newsweek reported Sunday.

The only al Qaeda capture that approaches the magnitude of Mohammed's was that of Abu Zubaydah last March. Zubaydah more than once provided information that sent American security officials scurrying to provide warnings to cities and sectors of the economy, knowing all the while that he could be lying.

Zubaydah did provide some information that was later verified through other sources, officials said. That included intelligence that led to the detention of Jose Padilla, the American federal officials allege was plotting to use a radiological weapon on U.S. soil.

‘Equal to the Liberation of Paris’

U.S. officials were elated by Mohammed's capture.

"This is equal to the liberation of Paris in the second World War," said Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, on ABC's This Week.

"This is a giant step backward for the al Qaeda," Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Fox News Sunday. "Now their operations commander is simply out of operations."

Officials were not releasing details of their plans for Mohammed. Previous high-level al Qaeda captives have not been brought to the United States, where they would have rights not afforded on foreign soil, U.S. officials say. Where they are, however, has not been disclosed.

Picking His Brain

The next step is attempting to get information from Mohammed.

U.S. officials insist they eschew physical, violent torture, although it is unclear if all of America's allies live by a similar code.

Also less clear are to what extent interrogators use certain methods that human rights groups also regard as torture: sleep deprivation, threats of torture and other techniques intended to confuse, frighten or wear down a captive.

"We don't sanction torture but there are psychological and other ways that we can get most of what we need," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Whatever the method, the goal is to get inside a prisoner's head and get him talking, experts say. An interrogator may try to appeal to Mohammed's vanity, his fears, or whatever lever seems to offer the best avenue to getting information that will stop terrorist attacks.

A Terror History Lesson?

As his interrogation moves away from the immediate, Mohammed can provide counterterrorism officials with a deeper understanding of al Qaeda and its history.

Officials believe he can detail how the Sept. 11 attacks were put together, answering long-standing questions about the plot's origins: Who chose the World Trade Center and Pentagon as targets? Who picked Sept. 11 as the date?

American officials say Mohammed, who was born in Kuwait and has both Pakistani citizenship and ancestry, planned and coordinated key aspects of the Sept. 11 operation.

Any information he provides can be cross-checked with that of Ramzi Binalshibh, his former aide who was captured in September. Binalshibh was a part of the cell that included Mohamed Atta, chief among the Sept. 11 hijackers.

In the mid-1990s, Mohammed also worked with his nephew Ramzi Yousef and two others in the Philippines on a number of operations. Yousef is in prison for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

One plan called for bombing 11 trans-Pacific airliners in flight. A second involved crashing an airplane into CIA headquarters outside of Washington. Officials have suggested these plots — broken up in their infancy with the arrests of Mohammed's associates — were the seeds of Sept. 11.

Mohammed is also believed to have been involved in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

The four plotters were linked to al Qaeda through a financial operative named Khalifa, who is bin Laden's brother-in-law, officials have said. Khalifa is believed to remain at large.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bleedingheartattack; gasstations; khalidsmohammed; khalifa; langley; powerplants; suspensionbridges
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1 posted on 03/03/2003 8:41:24 AM PST by Indy Pendance
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To: Indy Pendance
He can pray all he wants. He knows he's a dead man walking--and we'll extract the information out of him one way or another.
2 posted on 03/03/2003 8:44:07 AM PST by Catspaw
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To: Indy Pendance
instead reciting the Koran to himself

Hopefully with no teeth.

3 posted on 03/03/2003 8:45:12 AM PST by Semper Paratus
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To: Indy Pendance
The next step is attempting to get information from Mohammed. U.S. officials insist they eschew physical, violent torture

The future of our nation is on the line. The bastard should be on the receiving end of the the most horrific torture yet devised.

4 posted on 03/03/2003 8:46:02 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
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To: Catspaw
I hope we aren't too politically correct in extracting information from him. This guy deserves torture. He should have a death worse than Daniel Pearl. These guys are animals, treat them as such. Put this guy in a pen with some pigs and let him eat slop.
5 posted on 03/03/2003 8:46:41 AM PST by RolandBurnam
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To: Indy Pendance
I have a hard time believing anything ABC reports. Their "U.S. Official" is undoubtedly some left wing anti-Bush person who has a very low level position and know nothing about what is going on with the interrogations.
6 posted on 03/03/2003 8:48:36 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: RolandBurnam
" hope we aren't too politically correct in extracting information from him."

Well, his two kids were there.
Why didn't we snatch them,and threaten to , and if necessary, start slowly gutting them in front of him?
7 posted on 03/03/2003 8:49:36 AM PST by APBaer
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To: Mr. Mojo
Torture often elicits what the tortured thinks the torturer wants to hear. It isn't necessarily a good way to get solid information from someone who is uncooperative. Note that U.S. officials say they don't use "physical, violent torture." Sounds like they want useful information, not revenge.
8 posted on 03/03/2003 8:49:47 AM PST by cosine
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To: Indy Pendance
"This is equal to the liberation of Paris in the second World War," said Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, on ABC's This Week.

Poor analogy. Has anyone seen the French cheering along the Champs Elysee lateley? I think it's more like capturing Hermann Goering.

9 posted on 03/03/2003 8:49:54 AM PST by TADSLOS (Gunner, Target!)
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To: Indy Pendance
He'll crack... its just a matter of time... Remember all those hard core guys down in Gitmo? How many have tried suicide in the last few months... I don't care how solid your "faith"... there is only so much any human being can stand.. and since Al Queda is not a nation, its agents are illegal combatants and not protected by geneva convention... so please use all means neccessary on these nuts... the more painful the better.
10 posted on 03/03/2003 8:50:42 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: RolandBurnam
Oh, the upcoming days are not going to be happy or comfortable ones for Khalif Shaikh Mohammed, I can tell you that. And it doesn't bother me one iota, not when I think of all the people he had murdered, maimed and injured for Islam.
11 posted on 03/03/2003 8:50:45 AM PST by Catspaw
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To: Indy Pendance
given his hirsute appearance, i think a full body wax might loosen his tongue a bit....
12 posted on 03/03/2003 8:50:59 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: Indy Pendance
I have to believe that this gentleman is going to be induced to provide everything he knows.

I am not for medevil means, but my gut tells me he knows so much that he may end up at the Mossaud and they will find out everything.

13 posted on 03/03/2003 8:53:38 AM PST by The Wizard (Demonrats are enemies of America)
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To: Indy Pendance
"...but in the three days since his arrest he has refused to tell interrogators anything about planned attacks, instead reciting the Koran to himself, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS."

This means he's singing like a chorus of canaries.

"Disinformation ... is funny,
It makes... a cloudy day sunny..."

Michael

14 posted on 03/03/2003 8:53:40 AM PST by Wright is right!
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To: Indy Pendance
This sounds bogus. Since when does the FBI make daily reports on the progress of an interrogation, including thoughtful analyses of what interrogation techniques have been used and what technique the perp has used to avoid interrogation.

This is all disinformation, geared to maximally disrupt the al quaeda boys as we start a war.

15 posted on 03/03/2003 8:54:27 AM PST by ModelBreaker
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To: Indy Pendance
Here's where Hillary can finally serve her country. They can threaten him with a lap dance from her and Janet Reno. They won't be able to stop him from squawking after that.
16 posted on 03/03/2003 8:54:32 AM PST by Hillarys Gate Cult ("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
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To: cosine
I agree, it's far more important to get info than revenge. I hope they know what they're doing.
17 posted on 03/03/2003 8:54:48 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
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To: 1Old Pro
Oh, didn't you hear? The US has invited thousands of journalists to witness the actual interrogations. And any information related to the actual whereabouts of terrorists at large will be disclosed immediately to these journalists for exclusive scoops. (do I have to use sarcasm here?)
18 posted on 03/03/2003 8:56:00 AM PST by Indy Pendance
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Comment #19 Removed by Moderator

To: Indy Pendance
the computers and cell phones seized during the arrest have not yielded the wealth of information that officials had hoped they would, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS.

Why would the government leak this? It would seem the better tactic would be to say that the computers and CDs yielded a wealth of new information.

20 posted on 03/03/2003 8:57:42 AM PST by Maceman
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