Sept 11 145;plotters146; offer to confess

All five of the Guantaacute;namo detainees charged with planning and coordinating the September 11 attacks have asked a military judge to accept their confessions in full.

All five of the Guantaacute;namo detainees charged with planning and coordinating the September 11 attacks have asked a military judge to accept their confessions in full. The request appeared to be intended to cut short any effort to try them, and to challenge the United States Government to put them to death.

At the start of what had been expected to be routine proceedings Monday, military judge Col Steven Henley, disclosed that he had received a written statement from the five men. The statement said the five planned to stop filing written motions and instead 8220;to announce our confessions to plea in full8221;.

As he questioned one of the men, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has described himself as the mastermind of the 2001 attacks, Judge Henley of the US Army asked whether Mohammmed was prepared to enter pleas to the charges against him on Monday. 8220;Yes,8221; Mohammed answered brusquely.

8220;We don8217;t want to waste our time with motions,8221; Mohammed said.

Judge Henley began methodically questioning each of the five men to determine if they agreed with the joint statement, which was written after lengthy meetings among them that military officials had permitted them to hold in recent weeks.

8220;We the brothers, all of us, would like to submit our confession,8221; Ramzi bin al Shibh, another oft the detainees, said in response to questions from the judge. Bin al Shibh is charged with being the primary contact with the September 11 hijackers.

The judge said that even if he agreed on Monday to accept the pleas, he would hold a later session to examine the full facts behind the detainees8217; decisions to plead guilty.

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The unusual events were not a complete surprise. There had been indications that the detainees were resisting working with the military lawyers assigned to represent them. In addition, a move to cut short the proceedings had been seen by some lawyers as a way Mohammed and the other men could draw maximum public attention to their cases and to make statements about their political views without the Government having the opportunity to detail their acts.

The US political calendar may also be a factor. Many people expect Obama to direct that many detainees now held in Guantaacute;namo Bay be prosecuted in the civilian legal system. If that happens, then Monday8217;s proceedings will have been the detainees8217; last opportunity to challenge the widely criticised system here with guilty pleas that could yield them the opportunity for what they see as martyrdom.