Any word on Jimmy Hoffa and Judge Crater?

"...and then once when I was a kid, I mixed up this batch of fake puke and..."

that he’s insane, a distinct possibility

Which, I would think, would be a real possibility for anyone contemplating such attacks. Catch 22.

Since a fair amount was redacted from his statement before releasing it to the rpess, I have to assume there was a lot going on we still don't know about. We, being you and I and the rest reading this. However, it would also seem to suggest that he was SAYING things we don't know about, either... things that he, and investigators close to the case, WOULD know.

The possibility exists he's trying to take the heat off his fellow terrorists, certainly.

One of the major points to my mind was the admsision of planned attacks against Bubba and Jimah.... and I wonder how Democrats will react to that.

Can we charge him with the Kennedy assassination too?

James,

You forgot one thing. He didn't claim credit for shooting JFK.

Cheers,

Bill

Ah, this reminds me of this wonderful story:

Two young sons of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks, are being used by the CIA to force their father to talk.

He was suspected of masterminding 9/11 and killing Daniel Pearl when they caught him. None of this is a surprise unless you weren't paying attention when they were trying to catch him. Of course, this is from James, who tends to downplay every single good thing that happens in the War on Terror.

Carry on.

Of course, this is from James, who tends to downplay every single good thing that happens in the War on Terror.

Yep, that's me alright....

And, yeah, we've always suspect he was a major 9/11 planner. We've had him in custody since 2003. What, precisely, has changed here? How is America safer with this confession than it was Saturday morning?

One of the biggest objections to Bush's discarding of judicial process is precisely that we have to ask these questions about KSM's confession, rather than being able to trust the system.

After being repeatedly waterboarded & held in solitary for 4 years, KSM might well prefer execution to more of the same.

I am curious what evidence *besides* his confession we have. I've been assuming he was indeed guilty as accused, but if I were a judge or a juror, I would have to put aside that assumption.

Did he say "mistakes were made?" Cause otherwise he's not really taking responsibility at all.

Who said anything about safer? They just released a transcript, that's all.

As he personally slit the throat of Daniel Pearl, I'm not too concerned if they waterboarded him. I hope they did, and he cried like a baby.

Who said anything about safer?

That's my definition for "good thing that happens in the War on Terror." What's yours?

Haha, James, you've become a Defeatocrat. ;-)

Carter??? Why Carter?? Carter would happily surrender and wear a burka if necessary.

Did he say “mistakes were made?” Cause otherwise he’s not really taking responsibility at all.

Too wicked, Henley, too wicked.

"They said Michael Corleone this and Michael Corleone that, and I said - - yeah."

Stormy, ppGaz really misses you at BJ.

Heh. I miss him, too. However, my work suffers when I join the fray in Balloon Juice, as it took up too much of my time. I will probably be back in the summer, when I have time to set them all straight. :)

Carter??? Why Carter?? Carter would happily surrender and wear a burka if necessary

Just so.
But apparently even that amount of lip/butt contact would not have availed him. Lesson there, ya think?

That’s my definition for “good thing that happens in the War on Terror.” What’s yours?

You're talking about ultimate goals. This is about a major step in that direction.

Illustration:

In changing a flat tire, one does not have a rolling car when one has performed the steps of locating the jack, figuring out how to USE said jack, using it, getting the hubcaps off, the wheel loose, and then removed from the vehicle.

Those are merely a number of the steps needed to bring about the desired end....a rolling car.

This is about a major step in that direction.

And what step would that be?

KSM has been in custody for four years. He still is.

We've presumed from nearly the beginning that KSM was a/the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. We now have ever-so-slightly more evidence in that direction.

What else did we gain from Saturday's "confession"?

We’ve presumed from nearly the beginning that KSM was a/the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. We now have ever-so-slightly more evidence in that direction.

Well, yes and no... depends on who 'we' encompasses.

Mind you, James... this is off the cuff, here.

The left has, for just as long as we've held the goon, been suggesting he was a small fish and complaining we'd not captured BinLaden yet.... because, said they, we're not safe until OBL is caught, supposedly. KSM's previous claims of responsiblity have been discounted by the left, who complained that his admissions were not worth spit because of the 'torture' he went through.

So along comes KSM, suggesting this time, it's a free will offering... which thus eliminates that 'he was tortuned' argument. They'll have no choice but to at least consider he's been telling the truth.

(As an aside, since his offering now, mirrors almost exactly what he admitted under duress, what does that say to the claims of tourture not being effective, hmmmmmm?)

If we take KSM at his word... (granted a tricky proposition, for reasons we've discussed) we see he's of greater import than BinLaden, if getting the guy responsible for 9/11 was the agenda.

We also find a little wake up call for the anti-war/anti-Bush crowd... whose backside kissing as I said before, doesn't exempt them from being slaughtered, if this guy and his followers have the chance.

From all of this, we come down to two points, which semi-conflict;

* We were safer all along.. at least in the short term, than many would have us think, given KSM's out of the picture, he being a bigger fish, in reality, than OBL....
...and...

* those who wish us to withdraw (nee, Cut and Run) from this fight, have had a bit of a wakeup call... which makes us safer in the long term... that wakeup call will (one would hope) lessen their stridency against our actions in Iraq and elsewhere... and that left, upon seeing how personal this was getting against their people,too, will finally to start cheering for OUR side, for once.

That last part alone will make us safer...maintaining the resolve to fight.

B-Head: The left has, for just as long as we’ve held the goon, been suggesting he was a small fish

I call b.s. -- who, "for just as long as we've held" KSM, has said he was a small fish?

As an aside, since his offering now, mirrors almost exactly what he admitted under duress, what does that say to the claims of tourture not being effective, hmmmmmm?

Aha! And I bet that he said his name was Khalid, didn't he? Torture works!!!

Anderson - you're wasting your time.

We support your war of terror. May George Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq.

I call b.s. — who, “for just as long as we’ve held” KSM, has said he was a small fish?

Well, here's one such.

Well, its cheesy the story on OBL and 911 and KSM. KSM is nobody but a small actor in the vast plot..if he was that important, he would not have been caught. He was certainly caught for the purpose of spilling the beans of a supposed OBL plot on 911, plot that resides only in the minds of those who believe in UFO's etc...

No shock that this is William Arkin's place at work. The DU was full of this kind of comment as well, at the time.

B-head cites a commenter? How do we know this is even one of "the left," and not an agent provocateur?

Weak beer, indeed. We were told "the left" does something, and that turns out to be false. (Who, anyway, is "the left"? A sure hint that B-head doesn't actually know who he's talking about.)

Anderson -- you're wasting your time.

I know, just like I know I don't like Twinkies, but every few years I have to eat one anyway ....

Ah. And we're to accept that commenters are not speaking the views of the rank and file Democrats? Must such statements come form Democrat LEADERS to make them legit?

Com'on, Anderson, yuou're dancing... and not very well.

And let's see about some of the other comments, while we're here.

What are the statements making fun of KSM's claim of responsibility (ies) but a claim that he was less important to the Islamo- fascists than we've been saying all along?

And yes, the left seems on board with this claim

And here, too:

The point that I was trying to make is that it seems as though, with these reports of KSM's sensationalized "confession" of having masterminded so many terrorist attacks over the years, most notably 9/11, he is being made to seem more important than OBL himself, especially since we actually captured him. Ultimately, I think that this whole story, in addition to trying to take our focus off the Bush (mis-)administration's "whack-a-scandal", is intended to further marginalize OBL and minimize Bush's failure to capture him.

You tell me, Anderson; How are we to take such comments, other than to suggest KSM is a small fish, and more complaints about not having landed OBL?

Now, if you'd like to tell me that those posting on the democratic underground are not routinely members of what we would call "the left", I can't help you.