# OK, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed . . . but how much did he really do? **URL:** \ **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:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/41 "2007-03-15T22:51:56Z")
But he didn’t remember the Alamo! ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/42 "2007-03-15T22:54:38Z")
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m convinced he did it. I mean, come on, he must have organized and carried out the 9/11 attacks, I mean, he DID (or actually didn’t!) die in them. Just look at the picture of him. He’s FUCKED UP. I’m sure he would have confessed to anything they put infront of him. Way to go. I like how CNN is headlining it as “Confession Brings Closure to Some”. Who the hell does this bring closure to? Was your life so little affected by 9/11 that now, this dude confessing, actually makes you feel better?? What a waste of god damn waste of time ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/43 "2007-03-15T22:59:00Z")
[QUOTE=Surbey] Just look at the picture of him. He’s FUCKED UP. [/QUOTE] I think that picture was taken when he was arrested in 2003. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/44 "2007-03-15T23:10:55Z")
[This just in…](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070315/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/terrorist_plots) > [@Associated Press](#): > > Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s claims that he was responsible for dozens of successful, foiled and imagined attacks in the past 15 years relies on a loose definition of the word “responsible.” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/45 "2007-03-15T23:20:16Z")
[QUOTE=Prince] If a man is considered guilty For what goes on in his mind Then give me the electric chair For all my future crimes, oh [/QUOTE] I do think the authorities do have the goods for a couple of those; still, it doesn’t follow that one should ignore how unlikely many of the items confessed are real and to wonder if they have been obtained by underhanded methods. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/46 "2007-03-16T03:09:44Z")
[QUOTE=wring] I got a problem believing that the same “master criminal mind” is responsible for things like the embassy bombings, the 9/11 attacks (both very complex, highly orchestrated, and successful attacks) and the Richard Reid gig. Would the same person who looked at Doofus Reid and said to himself “sure, yea, it might work” be able to plan anything more complex than a trip to the store for mayo? [/QUOTE] Good point. It’s like believing that the same guy came up with the both the General Theory of Relativity and Nature’s Harmonic Simultaneous 4-Day Time Cube ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/47 "2007-03-16T03:11:32Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] How many number three guys have we nailed already? [/QUOTE] It used to be “the number two guy” we kept catching every month or so. Al-Qaeda went through Number Twos faster than The Village. I lost track of when it shifted to Number Three. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/48 "2007-03-16T03:13:13Z")
[QUOTE=Surbey] Just look at the picture of him. [/QUOTE] “Time to make the donuts…” ---
**Author:** ![Dinaroozie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Dinaroozie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinaroozie)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/49 "2007-03-16T07:09:52Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] “Hi, my name is **Abu Faraj al-Libbi** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/pakistan.arrest/index.html).” “Hi, my name is **Abu Hamza Rabia** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/04/wpak04.xml).” “Hi, my name is **Abu Zubaida** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june02/limbo_6-12.html).” “Hi, my name is **Khalid Sheikh Mohammed** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81615,00.html).” “Hi, my name is **Saif al-Adel** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/06/wiran106.xml).” “Hi, my name is \*\*Mohammed Sheikh Mohammed \*\* and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2003/03/17/al-qaeda-arrests.html).” [/QUOTE] Did this make anyone else think about those moles from the underground cave in Earthbound? “I am the mole who is more powerful than the fourth, but not as powerful as the second!” ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/50 "2007-03-16T07:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] “Hi, my name is **Abu Faraj al-Libbi** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/pakistan.arrest/index.html).” “Hi, my name is **Abu Hamza Rabia** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/04/wpak04.xml).” “Hi, my name is **Abu Zubaida** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june02/limbo_6-12.html).” “Hi, my name is **Khalid Sheikh Mohammed** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81615,00.html).” “Hi, my name is **Saif al-Adel** and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/06/wiran106.xml).” “Hi, my name is \*\*Mohammed Sheikh Mohammed \*\* and I’m [Al Qaeda #3](http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2003/03/17/al-qaeda-arrests.html).” [/QUOTE] Which one is the real one? We’ll find out on _To Tell the Truth_. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/51 "2007-03-16T07:49:07Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [IMHO thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=412416) [/QUOTE] This one beat both of us. By the way, I posted over an hour before you did…but thanks for pointing out the other two threads. I did scan the other fora before posting. Missed this one. Was there any point to linking them here? Just asking. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/52 "2007-03-16T09:34:49Z")
It’s OK to torture someone if he’s guilty of heinous crimes. And we know a person is guilty if they admit that they are guilty. They admit they are guilty because they are being tortured. Which is OK because they are guilty of heinous crimes. * * * There are some really evil people in this world. So evil that they have surrendered their right to be treated as human beings. And there are some other people in this world who \*MIGHT \*be really evil, So they _MAY_ have surrendered their right to be treated as human beings. …we can’t be sure, though. Just in case, we’d better not treat them as human beings. We wouldn’t want to treat someone like a human being just to find out later that they were really evil all along, would we? Oh! the egg on our faces then! * * * See, here’s the thing. It’s funny to make the _“If **x** happens then the terrorists have already won!”_ jokes. But I think we have now reached some bizarre point where–no joke–we can honestly say: “If we uphold the principles of justice that were incorporated into our nation at its founding, then the terrorists have already won.” ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/53 "2007-03-16T10:25:59Z")
[QUOTE=El Cid Viscoso] [Now uncensored](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070315/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_terrorist_confession).I’m looking at the video right now. From a layman’s/juror’s perspective it does look a lot like Mohammed. As I said, we have ample opportunity to apply rules of evidence. A crime such as this, if appropriately adjudicated, warrants a death penalty. Accordingly he will be a martyr no matter how much you want to beat your breast about torture and due process. [/QUOTE] A video of him confessing does not mean he did any of these things. The circumstances in which he has been held, the things he was subjected to and the cross between a kangeroo court and a witch-hunt legal processes mean that his confession is utterly meaningless. no doubt he is a bastard who needs locking away for the rest of his life (which avoids martyrdom). But let’s see the evidence and let’s see justice done properly. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/54 "2007-03-16T10:56:23Z")
Along the same lines, the U.S. military has also announced twice now that they’ve captured the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Even though after the first time, they never admitted that they didn’t have him. And it doesn’t look very likely that they have him this time, either. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/55 "2007-03-16T13:49:30Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] This one beat both of us. By the way, I posted over an hour before you did…but thanks for pointing out the other two threads. I did scan the other fora before posting. Missed this one. Was there any point to linking them here? Just asking. [/QUOTE] I always cross-link threads on the same news in different forums when I notice them – encourages Dopers to study the same story from a GD perspective, a Pit perspective, etc. Why not? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/56 "2007-03-16T15:32:09Z")
[QUOTE=tagos] A video of him confessing does not mean he did any of these things. [/quote] You missed the point. From a layman’s perspective it appears to be Mohammed in the Dan Pearl beheading video. He confessed to the killing at his tribunal, saying “look on the Internet for the film, it’s me holding his severed head!” > [@](#): > > no doubt he is a bastard who needs locking away for the rest of his life (which avoids martyrdom). That’s a death penalty debate. Mohammed the MVP will languish as an Enemy Combatant, eventually receive a trial and get the poison spike for the cowardly murder of a _Wall Street Journal_ reporter. If that’s martyrdom, I sure as hell wouldn’t want it. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/57 "2007-03-16T18:47:21Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I always cross-link threads on the same news in different forums when I notice them – encourages Dopers to study the same story from a GD perspective, a Pit perspective, etc. Why not? [/QUOTE] Thanks. I hadn’t thought of that. I thought you were being snarky, when actually it was me. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022/58 "2007-03-16T19:09:55Z")
[QUOTE=El Cid Viscoso] … If that’s martyrdom, I sure as hell wouldn’t want it. [/QUOTE] Of course not, you’re sane. Same fallacy applies to the justification of inhumane punishments as a deterrent. Of course they would deter sane and sensible people, but as a general rule, the sane and sensible do not commit murder, nor do they crave a wretched demise in order to punch thier Ticket to Paradise. I recall a debate of some years past in Islamic circles as to precisely what circumstances of demise qualified as “martyrdom”, with the attendent eternal perks. When the rational mind intrudes upon the spiritual dimension, the form of madness known as “theology” results. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-confessed-but-how-much-did-he-really-do/396022.md?page=2)