From the WSJ Opinion Archives

by JAMES TARANTO
Thursday, March 15, 2007 2:53 P.M. EDT

Today's Video on WSJ.com: Inside the Editorial Page--Paul Gigot & Co. discuss Viacom's lawsuit against Google.

9/11 Plus 30
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad got a hearing Saturday, thanks to the U.S. military's liberal reading of the Geneva Conventions. The conventions establish a procedure called an "Article 5" hearing, conducted by a military tribunal, to review whether someone captured on the battlefield is in fact an enemy combatant.

Such hearings are mandatory under the Geneva Conventions only if the combatant's status is in doubt, as KSM's surely was not. But in the 2004 case of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld the U.S. Supreme Court held that combatants with U.S. citizenship were entitled to Article 5 hearings, doubt or no doubt. Although the plaintiff in that case was the only Guantanamo detainee to hold U.S. citizenship, the military responded to Hamdi by extending Article 5 rights to all Guantanamo detainees. (The military calls its Article 5 panels Combatant Status Review Tribunals.)

KSM's hearing was originally supposed to be open to the press, but the Pentagon changed its policy to avoid the dissemination of classified information--much to this columnist's disappointment, as we had made inquiries to the Pentagon about covering it.

Yesterday, however, the military released a redacted transcript (PDF), and it makes for fascinating reading. There is one part of it everyone should read: the list of 31 actual or prospective attacks in which KSM acknowledged having been "a responsible participant, principal planner, trainer, financier . . ., executor, and/or a personal participant." Here it is, quoting verbatim from the transcript (pages 18-19):

1. I was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center Operation

2. I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation, from A to Z.

3. I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, [Wall Street Journal reporter] Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head.

4. I was responsible for the Shoe Bomber Operation to down two American airplanes.

5. I was responsible for the Filka Island operation in Kuwait that killed two American soldiers.

6. I was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, which was frequented by British and American nationals.

7. I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing the New (or Second) Wave attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9/11:
      a. Library Tower, California.
      b. Sears Tower, Chicago,
      c. Plaza Bank, Washington state.
      d. The Empire State Building, New York City.

8. I was responsible for planning, financing, & follow-up of Operations to destroy American military vessels and oil tankers in the Straights of Hormuz, and Straights of Gibralter, and the Port of Singapore.

9. I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing for the Operation to bomb and destroy the Panama Canal.

10. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the assassination of several former American Presidents, including President Carter.

11. I was responsible for surveying, planning, and financing for the bombing of suspension bridges in New York.

12. I was responsible for planning to destroy the Sears Tower by burning a few fuel or oil tanker trucks beneath it or around it.

13. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the operation to destroy Heathrow Airport, the Canary Wharf Building, and Big Ben on British soil.

14. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of many night clubs frequented by American and British citizens on Thailand soil.

15. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the New York Stock Exchange and other financial targets after 9/11.

16. I was responsible for planning, financing, and surveying for the destruction of buildings in the Israeli city of Elat by using airplanes leaving from Saudi Arabia.

17. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of American embassies in Indonesia, Australia, and Japan.

18. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of the Israeli embassy in India, Azerbaijan, the Philippines, and Australia.

19. I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of an Israeli 'El-Al' Airlines flight on Thailand soil departing from Bangkok Airport.

20. I was responsible for sending several Mujahadeen into Israel to conduct surveillance to hit several strategic targets deep in Israel.

21. I was responsible for the bombing of the hotel in Mombasa that is frequented by Jewish travelers via El-Al airlines.

22. I was responsible for launching a Russian-made SA-7 surface-to-air missile on El-Al or other Jewish airliner departing from Mombasa.

23. I was responsible for planning and surveying to hit American targets in South Korea, such as American military bases and a few night clubs frequented by American soldiers.

24. I was responsible for financial, excuse me, I was responsible for providing financial support to hit American, Jewish, and British targets in Turkey.

25. I was responsible for surveillance needed to hit nuclear power plants that generate electricity in several U.S. states.

26. I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing to hit NATO Headquarters in Europe.

27. I was responsible for the planning and surveying needed to execute the Bojinka Operation, which was designed to down twelve American airplanes full of passengers. I personally monitored a round-trip, Manila-to-Seoul, Pan Am flight.

28. I was responsible for the assassination attempt against President Clinton during his visit to the Philippines in 1994 or 1995. . . .

29. I shared responsibility for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul the second while he was visiting the Philippines.

30. I was responsible for the training and financing for the assassination of Pakistan's President Musharraf.

31. I was responsible for the attempt to destroy an American oil company owned by the Jewish former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, on the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

We suppose it is some comfort that many of these attacks never took place; al Qaeda's reach exceeds its grasp. But as we saw on 9/11, its grasp is bad enough.

Presumably the tribunal will find that KSM is indeed an enemy combatant, since he expressly acknowledged as much during the hearing. This means that he can be detained for the duration of al Qaeda's conflict with the U.S.

But President Bush indicated last September, when KSM and 13 other "high value" detainees were transferred to Guantanamo, that they would face trial for war crimes. It wouldn't surprise us if, after a trial, KSM ends up being put to death.

Baby Boomers
The Middle East Media Research Institute has video and a transcript of a Hamas TV interview with two adorable tykes whose mother, Rim Al-Riyashi, was a suicide bomber. Here's an excerpt:

Interviewer: Dhoha, you love mama, right? Where did mama go?

Dhoha: To Paradise.

Interviewer: What did mama do?

Dhoha: She committed martyrdom.

Interviewer: She killed Jews, right? How many did she kill, Muhammad?

Muhammad: Huh?

Interviewer: How many Jews did mama kill?

Muhammad: This many . . .

Interviewer: How many is that?

Muhammad: Five. . . .

Interviewer: One should talk about the innocence of children . . .

Dhoha: I want to talk about kindergarten, I want to talk.

Interviewer: What would you like to recite for us? Have you heard the poem "Mama Rim"? Go on then, recite it for us.

Dhoha: "Rim, you are a fire bomb."

Interviewer: Go on, recite it.

Dhoha: "Your children and submachine gun are your motto."

Interviewer: Muhammad, go ahead and recite . . .

Muhammad: I'm in kindergarten.

Dhoha: That's it, I'm done.

Interviewer: OK, do you want to go to mama?

Dhoha: Yes.

In that last answer, it's not quite clear if Dhoha understands that she's expressing a desire to join her mother in "paradise"--the Palestinian version of "no child left behind."

Meanwhile, tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of the bulldozer accident that killed Olympia, Wash., terror advocate Rachel Corrie as she tried to prevent the Israel Defense Forces from destroying a weapons-smuggling tunnel in Gaza. Her hometown paper, the Olympian, has a puff piece about Corrie's parents. This passage was especially rich:

In a sarcastic op-ed article published in The Jerusalem Post and reprinted in the Wall Street Journal [actually on OpinionJournal.com] on the first anniversary of Corrie's death in 2004, Ruhama Shattan, an Israeli translator and writer, thanked Corrie for "showing the way to all those who seek peace in the Middle East."

"Unfortunately, Corrie's peace . . . means not peaceful coexistence but the elimination of the state of Israel, and death to those they call 'the usurping Jews, the sons of apes and pigs,' " Shattan wrote.

The Corries are no stranger to such criticism.

"I would ask if the people that are making those kinds of accusations, if they have been there to see for themselves," Cindy Corrie said. "What's motivating their criticism?"

Yeah, what could possibly motivate an Israeli--someone who's not only "been there" but lives there--to criticize someone for trying to help Palestinian terrorists acquire weapons? It's a mystery.

OK, I'll Stay!
Remember back in January and February when Hillary Clinton demanded that President Bush withdraw troops from Iraq before he leaves office, then promised to do so herself upon her inauguration? We said the promise was an empty one, and it seems she's already abandoned it. From today's New York Times:

[Mrs.] Clinton foresees a "remaining military as well as political mission" in Iraq, and says that if elected president, she would keep a reduced military force there to fight Al Qaeda, deter Iranian aggression, protect the Kurds and possibly support the Iraqi military. . . .

She said in the interview that there were "remaining vital national security interests in Iraq" that would require a continuing deployment of American troops.

But she also seems to wish the whole thing would just go away:

Asked if Americans would endure having troops in Iraq who do nothing to stop sectarian attacks there, she replied: "Look, I think the American people are done with Iraq. I think they are at a point where, whether they thought it was a good idea or not, they have seen misjudgment and blunder after blunder, and their attitude is, What is this getting us? What is this doing for us?" "No one wants to sit by and see mass killing," she added.

"It's going on every day! Thousands of people are dying every month in Iraq. Our presence there is not stopping it. And there is no potential opportunity I can imagine where it could. This is an Iraqi problem; we cannot save the Iraqis from themselves. If we had a different attitude going in there, if we had stopped the looting immediately, if we had asserted our authority--you can go down the lines, if, if, if--"

The story ends with Mrs. Clinton in midsentence. What's clear is that Iraq will remain a problem for the next president to deal with. If Mrs. Clinton doesn't want to deal with it, maybe she shouldn't be running.

Who's 'Out of Step'?
Here is a fascinating little cultural indicator: Earlier this week Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune that he supported Bill Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" law on gays in the military. He then said, "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts."

This set off a predictable media kerfuffle, with the New York Times editorializing that "General Pace is wrong in every way, and out of step." Whether he is wrong is a matter of opinion. But with whom, exactly, is he "out of step"?

Jake Tapper of ABC News interviewed Hillary Clinton and on a network blog describes this exchange:

I also asked her about the comments by General Peter Pace that homosexulity [sic] is "immoral." Clinton has opposed the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, so I asked her if that law--signed by her husband in 1993--was a mistake, and if homosexuality is "immoral."

"General Pace has clarified his remarks, but let's not lose sight of the fact that 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is not working," she said. "We are being deprived of thousands of patriotic men and women who want to serve their country who are bringing skills into the armed services that we desparately [sic] need, like translation skills. And one can argue whether it was a good idea when it was first implemented, but we know have evidence as to the fact that we are in a time of war--when we really need as many people as we can to recruit and retain in an all-volunteer army--we are turning people away or discharging them not because of what they've done but because of who they are."

But is it immoral?

"Well I'm going to leave that to others to conclude," she said. "I'm very proud of the gays and lesbians I know who perform work that is essential to our country, who want to serve their country and I want make sure they can."

Newsday's Glenn Thrush confronted Mrs. Clinton's strongest opponent, Barack Obama, who was similarly evasive:

Newsday caught Obama as he was leaving the firefighters convention and asked him three times if he thought homsexuality [sic] is immoral.

Answer 1: "I think traditionally the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman has restricted his public comments to military matters. That's probably a good tradition to follow."

Answer 2: "I think the question here is whether somebody is willing to sacrifice for their country, should they be able to if they're doing all the things that should be done."

Answer 3: Signed autograph, posed for snapshot, jumped athletically into town car.

It's kind of weird that presidential candidates would be asked such a question, but it's also amusing to consider that this is an unintended consequence of Bill Clinton's decision, 14 years ago, to make opening the military to gays the No. 1 priority of his new administration.

In any case, it's telling that both Mrs. Clinton and Obama avoided the question instead of just coming out and agreeing with the line of the New York Times that of course homosexuality isn't immoral. Maybe they're genuinely ambivalent, but more likely they see this question as lacking a politically expedient answer: A "yes" would upset the liberal base; a "no" would put off voters with more traditional views. The latter part of this equation suggests that Pace isn't nearly as "out of step" as the Times claims.

The Problem Isn't Jealousy--It's Cynicism
"Sharpton Says He's Not Jealous of Obama"--headline, CNN.com, March 14

Antichoice Fanatics Strike Again!
"Do you know someone who's had an abortion?" asks the Web site 4exhale.org. "Are you having trouble knowing what to say? Do you want to let them [sic] know you care? Send them an e-card."

The site offers six different cards. Some of them are fairly anodyne, like "Thinking of You": "I want you to know that I care--about you, and how you are feeling. My thoughts are with you." "Encouragement" even says, "I think you did the right thing."

But then there's "Sympathy": "There are no words to express my sympathy for your loss. As you grieve, remember that you are loved. I am thinking of you." And "Spirituality": "Healing is possible. May you find peace after your abortion."

Loss? Grieve? Healing? "May you find peace"? Doesn't this sound like the work of antichoice fanatics trying to make women feel guilty merely for exercising their constitutional right to choose?

Wow, Man, What a Trip
The New York Times is running a contest:

Are you an intellectually curious student at an American college or graduate school?

Are you a middle or high school teacher eager to open your students' eyes to the world?

Here's your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid trip with Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas D. Kristof, Op-Ed and TimesSelect columnist for The New York Times.

One college student and one educator will be chosen to accompany Nick on an all-expenses-paid reporting odyssey to the African continent this summer.

What's second prize, two trips with Nick Kristof?

'P-U-S-H'
"Spelling Gives Birth to Boy"--headline, Zap2it.com, March 14

And They Criticized Michael Brown for Being Fashion-Conscious
"La. Governor Outraged Over Faulty Pumps"--headline, Associated Press, March 15

Sounds Grisly
"Face to Face: Black Eyeballs Potential Jurors in Chicago Trial"--headline and subheadline, New York Post, March 15

The Dangers of Underage Drinking
"Bourbon Girl Victim of Attempted Abduction"--headline, WNDU-TV Web site (South Bend, Ind.), March 15

They Did Say They Were Gonna Rock This Town
"Stray Cats Enter Home, Attack Woman, Boy"--headline, Associated Press, March 15

World Ends, Swiss Hardest Hit
"Climate Change Will Heat Switzerland Swiftly"--headline, Agence France-Presse, March 14

News You Can Use

Bottom Stories of the Day

In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
"An Iraqi immigrant faces deportation after triggering a security scare at Los Angeles International Airport when authorities found a suspicious device lodged in his body, officials said," the Associated Press reports:

Fadhel Al-Maliki, 35, of Atlantic City, N.J., prompted the alert March 6 during a screening for a flight to Philadelphia when he tried to go through security with two objects in his rectum. The FBI said he told screeners the objects, a polished stone and a piece of metal, were used to fight stress.

That wasn't enough to constitute a federal offense, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

The story never answers the question that stirs our curiosity, namely: How many objects does it take to constitute a federal offense?

(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Steve Dillinger, Shawn DeMers, Monty Krieger, Michael Segal, Ethel Fenig, Dan O'Shea, Mark Van Der Molen, Mike Donofrio, Paul Dyck, Brendan Schulman, Joel Goldberg, Lyle Katz, Rafael Harpaz, Jack Archer, Ellen Goetz, Jim Tierney, Bill Palmer, John Williamson, Andrew Robinson, Steve Karass, Doug Mooney, Shabtai Atlow, Scott Wright, Lewis Chilton, Bruce Webster, Paul Wicht, John Sanders, Alexander Lincoln, David Batcheller, Michael Benn, Myles Pollin, Steve Edwards, Jeff Baird, Shawn Pavlik, George Marchenko, Rod Pipinich and Joseph Teichman. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)

Today on OpinionJournal:

  • Paul Kedrosky: Viacom v. YouTube: The real issue is a consumer rebellion, not intellectual property.
  • Daniel Henninger: The Army fired the one guy who can fix the Walter Reed fiasco.
  • John O. McGinnis: Two new books explore how the Supreme Court really works.

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