U.S. & World

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Wearing an orange jumpsuit and with his hands chained, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed quoted from the Quran and cited George Washington as he attempted to justify the horrors of 9/11 - providing the first glimpse into the mind of the alleged architect of the attacks.

Mohammed's statements during a hearing at Guantanamo Bay, in which he confessed to planning 31 terrorist attacks, also raise questions about the effect that years of rough CIA interrogations may have had and whether his confession is valid.

"As a result of torture, KSM himself falsely implicated various other people who he says are innocent," said Clive Stafford Smith, an attorney for several other Guantanamo detainees. He cited Mohammed's statements, which did not name names.

In a censored transcript of Saturday's hearing issued late Wednesday by the Pentagon, the tribunal president noted that Mohammed complained that he had been tortured by the CIA, and asked if he made statements because of the torture. Mohammed, who was transferred to Guantanamo from CIA custody in September, responded, "I cannot remember now," but the rest of his sentence and other remarks on that point were censored by the military.

Later in the encounter, Mohammed said he and other prisoners had made false statements during interrogation, apparently under torture. He submitted a written statement about how he allegedly was tortured, but the military refused to divulge it. Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged its release.

"It is a glaring misuse of the classification power for the government to classify information simply because it might be embarrassing or unlawful," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "Mohammed's claims of torture should be investigated rather than concealed."

CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano denied the torture allegations. "The United States does not conduct or condone torture," he said.

Two psychiatrists, in interviews with The Associated Press, said Mohammed's admissions on Saturday do not appear to be the result of torture but might be exaggerated for tactical reasons, as part of his continued fight against the United States.

The three-member U.S. military panel - their names were censored - aims to determine whether Mohammed is an enemy combatant and should continue to be held at the military prison in Cuba. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, who has the ultimate say on the matter, is expected to make a decision within days.

Military guards brought Mohammed, dressed in the orange jumpsuit reserved for noncompliant prisoners, into the hearing room in a doublewide trailer inside the prison complex at Guantanamo Bay, then left. Only those with the proper security clearance can be present when the detainee speaks. The guards left Mohammed in handcuffs and sitting on a chair, his feet connected by a chain to the floor.

Mohammed is now much slimmer than the chubby man who was captured in 2003, according to an official who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.

According to the transcript, Mohammed cited a verse from the Quran that said Allah forbids Muslims to become friendly with those who fight them because of their faith. He also said many Muslims view Osama bin Laden as a heroic figure like George Washington.

Two psychiatrists, who reviewed his statements, said he appears committed to his cause.

"There's no evidence in his statements that he has relinquished any sense of purpose or mission," said Michael Welner, an expert on terrorism and confessions and an associate professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine.

In a statement read by an Air Force lieutenant colonel, designated as Mohammed's personal representative, Mohammed claimed responsibility for planning Sept. 11 and 30 other attacks, many of which were not carried out. After the list was read, a U.S. Navy captain serving as the tribunal president, immediately asked Mohammed if those were his words.

"Yes," Mohammed responded.

"I want to be clear, though, is that you were the author of that document," the president asked again.

"That's right," Mohammed insisted, adding at another point that he is an enemy of the United States.

"I see him as rather feisty and combative and nothing indicating a guy confessing things after being ... tortured," said Jerrold M. Post, director of the Political Psychology Program at George Washington University and a 21-year veteran of the CIA. "He's somewhat proudly stating, perhaps overstating, the extent of the operations he has been involved with."

Mohammed might be exaggerating the number of targets he intended to attack in order to spread "the message of fear," Post said.

Welner said Mohammed may have been misleading interrogators, mixing in information about false plots along with ones that were real.

"If he decides there is something he wants to misinform interrogators about he can do it, and only he will know he is doing it," Welner said. "It presents a tremendous challenge for law enforcement ... and the motive could be to divert investigators away from a more significant plot.

"He is still invested in his cause," Welner said. "He is still fighting his war. That's not going to change."

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