Khalid Mohammed Wants To Be A Martyr, One Way Or Another

Confessed 9/11 conspirator Khalid Shaikh Mohammed appeared Thursday before a Pentagon tribunal... and not only appeared to be at ease, but also told officials he wants the death penalty.

The Los Angeles Times reports the confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks was informed by chief military judge Marine Colonel Ralph Kohlmann that he could face the death penalty if convicted, and replied, "This is what I wish. I wanted to be a martyr for a long time."

Mohammed -- or "KSM" as he has come to be known by those close to the case -- is on trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, along with four co-defendants: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Ramzi bin al Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. All five were informed Thursday they faced charges including terrorism, conspiracy, hijacking and murder.

Though all five defendants allegedly had a hand in arranging the 9/11 attacks, most of the attention is on Mohammed, the self-confessed "mastermind" of the attacks. He calls the current legal proceedings an "inquisition," and has declined representation by Navy Captain Prescott Prince... saying Prince wears the uniform of his American enemies and has pledged allegiance to President Bush, "who wages systemic war against the Islamic world."

The American Civil Liberties Union has made civilian lawyers available to him, but Mohammed says he will represent himself, joking that his English is better than that of the translators assigned him. He also told the court he rejects the validity of US law.

"Evil laws are not the laws of God, laws allowing same-sexual marriage," Mohammed said. "I consider all American laws under the Constitution to be evil."

Mohammed appears nonchalant about what's happening. The Times reports that when shown a courtroom artist's sketch of him, he asked the artist to make his nose look more like his FBI picture (shown above, right).

FMI: www.cnic.navy.mil/Guantanamo/index.htm