The US Defence Department has announced a pre-trial deal with three men accused of planning the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi have agreed to plead guilty in exchange for being spared the death penalty. Details of the plea deal have not been released, but it is reported that the men will admit to all charges, including the murder of 2,976 people. The 9/11 attacks were the deadliest on US soil since Pearl Harbor, leading to the “War on Terror” and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, considered the mastermind behind the attacks, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques” before they were banned in 2007. The plea agreement has been met with mixed reactions, with some victims’ families wanting the men to admit guilt, while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the Biden administration for what he described as an “abdication of the government’s responsibility.”
The White House National Security Council stated that President Biden’s office was informed but did not participate in the negotiations. The agreement marks a significant step in the pursuit of justice for the 9/11 attacks after more than 16 years of prosecution efforts. The formal pleas are expected to be entered next week, bringing closure to a chapter in US history that reshaped American society and the Middle East.
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