Current:Home > StocksQuestion of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds-LoTradeCoin
Question of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds
View Date:2024-12-23 10:26:13
What would you say to the 9/11 terrorists who killed your father?
The question sounds theoretical and unrealistic, an opportunity that could never happen. But some survivors of 9/11 victims may soon get that improbable chance after 23 years waiting for justice.
Elizabeth Miller, whose father Douglas Miller, a firefighter, died on 9/11, knows what she would ask.
“Do they have regrets? Do they wish things happened different? If they had the opportunity would they do it again? Or would they think about it twice?”
Plea deals that prosecutors negotiated with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his al-Qaeda conspirators could soon give survivors of the attacks and relatives of victims the chance to finally confront the terrorist operatives.
A judge ruled Wednesday that deals negotiated by prosecutors in July can go forward, paving the way for a hearing in a U.S. military courtroom at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One of the key components of the deal allows families the chance to question the defendants about the attacks.
The proposed plea deal would allow the thousands of people who lost loved ones in the attacks to submit their questions to the terrorists' attorneys via an encrypted online portal, according to a letter from the federal Office of Military Commissions. The al-Qaeda operatives have agreed to respond to the questions within 90 days of receiving them, according to the letter, which was sent to 9/11 surviving family members.
It's unclear if the three defendants will answer in written form or aloud in court at Guantanamo Bay where the federal government regularly flies families to watch court proceedings.
For several 9/11 family survivors, even the possibility of asking questions is a long-awaited goal they hope can bring some closure and understanding of the motivations behind 9/11.
Miller heads 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group that has advocated for the chance to ask the terrorists questions before they are allowed to walk out of the courtroom. The first question she and many family members have: How do the terrorists feel about the attacks today?
“Did they think this was the most successful thing they ever did? Because what happened was more war, more violence,” Miller told USA TODAY.
The questions they will be allowed to ask are similar to victim impact statements in many U.S. criminal trials, which give families the opportunity to tell the court how a crime changed their lives. But the questions lingering in the 9/11 case are more historic and represent perhaps the final chapter of one of America's most unforgettable tragedies.
USA TODAY spoke with several family members who could get a chance to confront Mohammed in writing. They described what questions they need answered to move on from the pain of 23 years ago.
'Do you believe that the 19 terrorists are martyrs?'
William Raff was at his desk on the 82nd floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m.
He and others began evacuating. But in what Raff calls a “tragic misjudgment,” they were ordered to return to their desks shortly before Mohammed's hijackers flew Flight 175 into the south tower at 9:03 a.m., taking out floors 77 through 85.
Raff, a longtime employee of Fuji Bank, was one of the lucky ones who escaped. But the attacks obliterated his world literally and figuratively. He lost 23 of his colleagues, many of them close friends. Surviving 9/11 drove him to reshape his worldview to put people at the center of his life.
Today, the 75-year-old wants to know if Mohammed's world views have changed.
“Do you still support the Islamist rationale for justifying the attacks, including killing of innocent victims,” said Raff, now a docent at the 9/11 Museum & Memorial. “Do you believe that the 19 terrorists are martyrs who are now in Paradise?”
If Mohammed’s beliefs have softened, Raff wonders what the suspected mass murderer will say about what he did today.
“What would you wish to convey to the families of those killed as the result of the 9/11 attack?”
Long road to justice and the chance to confront the killers
The decision from the judge, Col. Matthew McCall, to proceed with the pleas overruled Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's attempt to scrap the deals in August. It also comes immediately following the reelection of former President Donald Trump, who is expected to fiercely oppose the deals that spare the 9/11 terrorists their lives.
Mohammed and two of his top lieutenants, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, have agreed to plead guilty to the murder of 2,976 people and other charges in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. Mohammed is described as the “principal architect of the 9/11 attacks” in the 2004 report by the 9/11 Commission.
Mohammed grew up in a religious family in Kuwait and became “enamored of violent jihad at youth camps," the report says. He moved to Pakistan after studying in North Carolina and orchestrated various terrorist plots, including "the use of aircraft as missiles guided by suicide operatives.” Authorities captured him in 2003 and he remains one of the last living al-Qaeda leaders who was deeply involved in the 9/11 attacks.
Mohammed, or KSM as he's often known, and the others have been held in prisons overseas and at Guantanamo for decades without facing trial. The torture they faced at the hands of CIA operatives has made bringing a case against them almost impossible as much of the evidence is considered inadmissible.
The plea agreements would put Mohammed and his conspirators in prison for life. But many relatives of victims feel the 9/11 plot masterminds should face the death penalty for their suspected role in the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on U.S. soil.
‘Can't trust anything that comes out of KSM’s mouth’
Some victims’ families have slammed the idea of questioning Mohammed.
Brett Eagleson was a 15-year-old sophomore in high school in central Connecticut on 9/11. His dad, Bruce, was an executive on a temporary assignment at the World Trade Center. The last time anyone saw him, he was heading back to his 17th-floor office to get two-way radios to help with the evacuation.
No question put to the Guantanamo detainees will change that or bring Eagleson closure.
“We can't trust anything that comes out of KSM’s mouth,” said Eagleson, 38. “KSM is a trained manipulator and liar, he lies to protect his conspirators and nothing he says is truthful.”
But Eagleson would like to ask questions to the people who arranged the deal. Namely, what evidence do they have on the 9/11 attacks that they have not shared with the public?
For years Eagleson, who runs the group 9/11 Justice, has been trying to force the federal government to turn over evidence of the attacks. He expects the information will support a lawsuit he and other relatives of victims have against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over its alleged involvement in the terrorist strikes.
“My question is to the prosecution,” he said. “Why are you blocking us and helping our sworn enemy . . . I don't care what these detainees say, I care about why our government isn’t helping us.”
A chance to ‘connect’ with 9/11 conspirators
Other victims’ relatives fear either they or the al-Qaeda operatives will die before a trial happens. They want the chance to speak directly to KSM and the others to provide closure that has eluded them for decades.
Terry Rockefeller, a retired documentary filmmaker who lost her only sister on 9/11, hopes to voice some of her lingering questions about how the attacks were planned. She wants to know, for example, at what point the three terrorists knew the Twin Towers were targets if they knew at all.
She says the chance to ask questions represents the only opportunity she may ever have to put 9/11 behind her.
But more importantly, she sees questioning the trio as her only chance to make her sister’s killers understand the pain they caused.
"They deprived me of my sister," Rockefeller said. "How are they feeling being deprived of their families?"
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Michelle Obama Is Diving Back into the Dating World—But It’s Not What You Think
- Indiana man sentenced for neglect after rat attack on his infant son
- The Latest: Harris campaigns in Wisconsin and Trump in Michigan in battle for ‘blue wall’ states
- The fate of Nibi the beaver lands in court as rescuers try to stop her release into the wild
- Utah AD Mark Harlan rips officials following loss to BYU, claims game was 'stolen from us'
- Will gas prices, supplies be affected by the port strike? What experts say
- Google’s search engine’s latest AI injection will answer voiced questions about images
- Terence Crawford cites the danger of Octagon in nixing two-fight deal with Conor McGregor
- Round 2 in the Trump-vs-Mexico matchup looks ominous for Mexico
- Mayorkas warns FEMA doesn’t have enough funding to last through hurricane season
Ranking
- What is best start in NBA history? Five teams ahead of Cavaliers' 13-0 record
- Biden arrives in SC amid states' grueling recovery from Helene: Live updates
- The US could see shortages and higher retail prices if a dockworkers strike drags on
- Pizza Hut giving away 1 million Personal Pan Pizzas in October: How to get one
- Charles Hanover: A Summary of the UK Stock Market in 2023
- Rare whale died of chronic entanglement in Maine fishing gear
- Outer Banks’ Madelyn Cline Seemingly Confirms Kiara and JJ’s Relationship Status in Season 4
- Rachel Zegler Says Snow White's Name Is Not Based on Skin Color in New Disney Movie
Recommendation
-
Oil Industry Asks Trump to Repeal Major Climate Policies
-
Man who was mad about Chinese spy balloon is convicted of threatening former Speaker McCarthy
-
Amazon, Target and other retailers are ramping up hiring for the holiday shopping season
-
Dakota Fanning opens up about the pitfalls of child stardom, adapting Paris Hilton's memoir
-
Colts' Kenny Moore II ridicules team's effort in loss to Bills
-
Covid PTSD? Amid port strike some consumers are panic-buying goods like toilet paper
-
Score Bestselling Free People Deals Under $50: Up to 80% Off Chic Styles From Under $20 for Limited Time
-
I Live In a 300 Sq. Ft Apartment and These Amazon Finds Helped My Space Feel Like a Home