# OK, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed . . . but how much did he really do?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [March 15, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022 "2007-03-15T11:56:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/1 "2007-03-15T11:56:51Z")
The infamous Khalid Sheikh Mohammed [has confessed now](http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2007/03/15/610924.html) not only to masterminding the September 11 attacks, but to 30 other terrorist attacks over a period of several years. Wonderful! But, given that he was in the hands of the CIA for three years and held out of sight at Guantanamo since, might he not have confessed to killing the Lindberg baby by now? If the government had released that he confessed to 9/11, which is what was already pretty well known, that’s fine. But aren’t you a little suspicious of the addition of so much other stuff that the CIA wanted cleared? He says now that he was not tortured at Guantanamo, although he claimed to have been tortured by the CIA earlier. What would he be expected to say?
And what might the government be expected to say now? “Look how well our policy of handling prisoners works! We even got Daniel Pearl’s killer. See, we were right all the time.”
My question is, did he do everything he “confessed” to? Or did he just clear a lot of old CIA cases to stop the torture?
---
### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/2 "2007-03-15T12:29:12Z")
Of course he did it. I’m sure everything will become clear during his [trial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Trials) :dubious:
---
### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/3 "2007-03-15T12:43:11Z")
I can’t answer the OP, but, damn, that guy looks like Ron Jeremy!
---
### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/4 "2007-03-15T13:38:34Z")
I’m anxious to read the unexpurgated report, in which I understand he also fesses to JonBenet Ramsey, both Kennedys, Jimmy Hoffa, the Zodiac murders, the Black Dahlia, Jesus Christ, Achilles, Abel, and someone I don’t recognize whose Arabic name translates to “I’ll say anything you want just please god please don’t Tase my balls again.”
---
### Author:  [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/5 "2007-03-15T13:43:42Z")
I’m sure it’s all a lie. He never did anything wrong except look at an FBI agent the wrong way.
---
### Author:  [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/6 "2007-03-15T13:55:59Z")
I don’t buy it. He had me until he confessed to shaving Britney’s head.
---
### Author:  [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/7 "2007-03-15T14:10:01Z")
Well, he was the number three guy in a terrorist organization that was implicated in attacks on our embassies in Africa, the attack on the Cole, and the first attack on the World Trade Center. And this was even before 9/11. Plus, these were only the major attacks.
I’m sure he’s culpable in some way, whether personally in the planning of operations or in setting in place a structure where others could do so. Either way, his crimes against humanity are pretty clear.
---
### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/8 "2007-03-15T14:18:43Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble]
I can’t answer the OP, but, damn, that guy looks like Ron Jeremy!
[/QUOTE]
I’m not sure if he’s as guilty as we’re being asked to believe, but if he is, then he’s done to this country what Ron Jeremy did to a lot of women.
---
### Author:  [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/9 "2007-03-15T15:02:57Z")
[QUOTE=Nutty Bunny]
I don’t buy it. He had me until he confessed to shaving Britney’s head.
[/QUOTE]
Apparently he also kidnapped the Lindbergh baby and was responsible for New Coke.
Seriously, the guy is a serious cold blooded bastard. Heard an interview with an ex-FBI guy this morning and the main concern is that he may be claiming more than he really did based on ego, although I’m confident he’s done lots of really despicable stuff.
---
### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/10 "2007-03-15T15:11:05Z")
I’ve heard from two independent sources that he kidnapped the Lindbergh baby - this guy is badass! 😉
I don’t know if he’s making things up, but the Sept. 11, Cole and embassy attack confessions are plausible at the very least.
---
### Author:  [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/11 "2007-03-15T15:13:04Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth]
Apparently he also kidnapped the Lindbergh baby and was responsible for New Coke.
Seriously, the guy is a serious cold blooded bastard. Heard an interview with an ex-FBI guy this morning and the main concern is that he may be claiming more than he really did based on ego, although I’m confident he’s done lots of really despicable stuff.
[/QUOTE]
I can’t forgive him for cancelling Star Trek or giving Lucas the idea for Jar-Jar Binks.
But this is the problem isn’t it. No due process, no day in court, torture. We know nothing about what he may or may not have done. And the same for all those others.
---
### Author:  [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/12 "2007-03-15T15:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth]
Apparently he…was responsible for New Coke.
[/QUOTE]
That’s enough for me. String him up!
---
### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/13 "2007-03-15T15:34:45Z")
Excluding the media from the hearing is one thing. Not great, but it is sometimes necessary for certain types of hearings.
Excluding the Defendant’s lawyer from the hearing is a crock of shit. The man is represented by counsel, yet he is interrogated under oath and on the record without his lawyer present. During said interogation, he confesses to multiple death penalty offenses. Makes me feel dirty, and I wasn’t even there…
---
### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/14 "2007-03-15T15:53:02Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto]
I’m sure he’s culpable in some way
[/QUOTE]
“We can’t review any concrete evidence, but he must be guilty of _something_, so anything we punish him for is gravy.”
---
### Author:  [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/15 "2007-03-15T16:14:54Z")
OK, he’s one bad dude. I’m sure he’ll be chained to the rock next to mine with the view of the worst lake of burning sulfur in hell. I’m sure he’ll be there real soon now, and I’m pretty good with that.
But we’ve had this guy on the rack for **four fucking years** ([Wiki link for cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Sheikh_Mohammed#Capture.2C_interrogation_and_torture.3F)) and our government is just announcing the results **now**?
I’m sure the timing of this announcement has everything to do with distracting the public from the political purge of the Federal Prosecutors, and almost nothing to do with KSM terrorist activities. I’m not even going to pretend to sarcasm here.
Fucking Bush-leaguers!
---
### Author:  [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/16 "2007-03-15T16:15:22Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise]
“We can’t review any concrete evidence …”
[/QUOTE]
But we can. Mohammed has admitted involvement in planning the bombing of an airliner with Richard Reid. He has also admitted to “cutting the head with [his] own blessed right hand” of reporter Dan Pearl, who at the time of his abduction in Karachi was following the Shoe Bomber’s tracks.
I’m fairly certain any forensic expert worth his salt could verify whether it is indeed Mohammed’s hand holding Pearl’s severed head in the video. This is enough to hang him, and as you said, the rest is gravy. Good knight and good schmuck.
---
### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/17 "2007-03-15T16:20:52Z")
[QUOTE=El Cid Viscoso]
I’m fairly certain any forensic expert worth his salt could verify whether it is indeed Mohammed’s hand holding Pearl’s severed head in the video.
[/QUOTE]
He was rumored to be the killer for years. If it was that easy, I think the government could have trotted out an expert sooner.
---
### Author:  [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/18 "2007-03-15T16:29:47Z")
My problem with this announcement is the fact that our government is doing everything in secret, then, in effect, pretty much _leaking_ the information to us through a “military representative,” whatever the hell that is. It’s not a lawyer or they would have said so. I think he’s probably guilty of at least some of the things he’s “confessed” to, but I wonder at what cost to ourselves do we get his confession, try him in secret, and then pretend that something like justice has been done.
And yes, now that you mention it, he _does_ look like Ron Jeremy! I mean . . . um . . . who’s Ron Jeremy? 😉
---
### Author:  [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/19 "2007-03-15T16:32:27Z")
[QUOTE=El Cid Viscoso]
But we can. Mohammed has admitted involvement in planning the bombing of an airliner with Richard Reid. He has also admitted to “cutting the head with [his] own blessed right hand” of reporter Dan Pearl, who at the time of his abduction in Karachi was following the Shoe Bomber’s tracks.
I’m fairly certain any forensic expert worth his salt could verify whether it is indeed Mohammed’s hand holding Pearl’s severed head in the video. This is enough to hang him, and as you said, the rest is gravy. Good knight and good schmuck.
[/QUOTE]
No - we have a censored Pentagon transcript claiming he’s confessed to these things. We have seen no evidence he did any of them, whether he confessed to them or not. Plenty of people claimed to have been witches too, on the basis of a judicial process about as reputable as this one.
Justice has to be seen to be done. Torture, imprisonment without trial, no right to independent council have no place in civilised societies. All this does is make him a martyr and let him pose as an inspiration to others by making inflated and unsubstantiated claims which in our eagerness to demonise our enemies we play along with.
Yet again our tiny, vengeful minds lead us to being our own worst enemy.
---
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/20 "2007-03-15T16:48:21Z")
[QUOTE=tagos]
Plenty of people claimed to have been witches too, on the basis of a judicial process about as reputable as this one.
[/QUOTE]
Outstanding comment, Sir.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022.md?page=2)