Scooter and KSM

While it's popular in some sects to chastise Bush for not getting "the guy who caused 9/11", ie, Osama bin Laden, it seems we've had the real culprit all along:

"I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation, from A to Z," Mohammed, speaking through a personal representative, said according to the transcript of the hearing on Saturday at the U.S. military prison camp in Cuba released by the Pentagon.

This shouldn't be any kind of news flash, but if so we can only blame the MSM and politicians (the ones who wanted to shut down the secret CIA prisons he was staying in).

KSM is believable to a point, since he was well-known as Ramzi Yousef's uncle during the 90s when Yousef was wreaking global havoc. It's not as if he just popped out after 9/11 but it's also quite true he wasn't public enemy number one, two or three, either. The important point here is that KSM's allegiance wasn't necessarily with bin Laden while he was orchestrating attacks on America.

As a matter of fact we learned quite a bit about his feelings for Osama during his "substitution for testimony" during the Zacarious Moussaoui trial, including how he finally pledged a bond with AQ right before the 9/11 attacks, but only reluctantly. He certainly had much in common with weird beard in their mutual wishes to see death and destruction in the west and Israel, but it's hard to say whether his coolness to the top Sheikh is simply an artifact or real. It's also hard to say how connected they were to any states, although Bush and Cheney have taken extreme heat for leaving the impression such a thing was possible. After all, the 9/11 Commission told us these terrorists were "rootless".

Just how rootless they were may never be answered, depending on the answer. Speculations have included Iraq, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or perhaps even Russia or China. Supporting facts have been elusive aside from a few circumstantial nuts and bolts. Nevertheless, no matter who might have supported them the end result was the same.

KSM's name was on the speed dial of just about every Islamist terrorist of note and his laptop contained some very scary stuff. It's no wonder Bush wanted him stashed in an unknown location. But here's a bit of trivia that might be pertinent in light of recent events:

The attorney for White House staffer Scooter Libby would reveal that Libby in July 2003 was preoccupied with many national security issues, including the possibility al-Qaida had brought anthrax into the United States.

As mentioned, when Libby decided not to testify the CIA briefers went away as did any further mention of such intelligence. Better to let others spend hours jawboning about whether Scooter lied than have Scooter tell us why he might have forgotten, I guess.

It'll be interesting to see what becomes of KSM. New York and the nation might benefit from seeing him sentenced in Manhattan then sent off in shackles to rot with his "nephew", but it wouldn't be too surprising if he disappears again.