Zacarious Moussaoui Allegedly To Destroy White House

The man arrested before 9-11, Zacarious Moussaoui, was on a mission to destroy the White House. So say federal prosecutors who believe Moussaoui was tasked with hijacking a fifth jetliner on September 11th and fly it into the Oval Office. The question now is, did the French-born Muslim have accomplices and if so, where are they?

Prosecutor: He Knows More Than He's Telling

Moussaoui “was keenly aware of why he was here,” prosecutor Kenneth Karas said in court on January 30. The prosecutor was responding to defense arguments that Moussaoui didn’t know the reason al-Qaida plotted to fly planes into U.S. buildings.

“It was going to involve others,” Karas said. “The fact that he didn’t know the precise whereabouts or even if we can assume he didn’t know the names of the people doesn’t mean he doesn’t know the objects of the conspiracy.” How does Karas know? He cites information gleaned from a member of al Qaeda's alleged affiliate in Indonesia, the Jamaah Islamiah. Court documents show Moussaoui met a man named Faiz Bafana, a member of the Pacific group, and talked freely about his dreams while both men were in Malaysia three years ago. What was Moussaoui dreaming at the time? According to Karas, Moussaoui's ultimate goal was “to fly an airplane into the White House.” Defense attorneys say it isn't so, that Bafana never took Moussaoui seriously.

He Would Kid About A Thing Like That?

The new allegations come in court documents unsealed late last week. Moussaoui is already charged with conspiracy in the 9-11 attacks. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. But there are indications that the prosecution of his case could be in serious trouble.

February 3rd, Washington (DC) Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema indicated whether the case is tried in her court or in a military tribunal probably hinges on her decision to let Moussaoui question a detained al Qaeda suspect. If, the judge indicated, her order is upheld by a higher court, the government will drop the whole thing.  “I understand, at least I think I understand, that if the court is affirmed by the 4th Circuit [Court of Appeals], the impression I have is that the United States is not going to go forward with this case. That may or may not be the case, but that’s sort of the inference of what I’ve heard,” said Brinkema, who had had ruled that Moussaoui had a constitutional right to question a potentially favorable witness. So far, Moussaoui is the only 9/11 defendant charged in open court. That, however, could change, depending on the 4th Circuit Court ruling. It's possible that, should the court rule in Moussaoui's favor, he'll end up in a small prison cell at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, awaiting an indeterminate fate along with hundreds of other terror detainees.

[Those detainees are being held as "enemy combatents," a new category of enemy of the state created by the Ashcroft Juctice Department, which is in a bit of a vise itself: since there was no declaration of war, there is no war. Therefore, Ashcroft can't hold these people as POWs; but he decided to hold them anyway, and now has at his use an undefined legal fiction that is... whatever he says it is. That new definition, all his own, denies these prisoners all legal rights that Ashcroft doesn't allow.]

FMI: www.usdoj.gov