Editorial: Testimony from a terrorist

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed made bold statements to a military tribunal earlier this month, claiming to be the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a laundry list of other terrorist attacks around the world.

The military went to Afghanistan to fight al-Qaida and terrorists like Mohammed, who was reputed to be the third-ranking member of the group when he was captured four years ago in Pakistan.

But Mohammed's statements, which were released by the Pentagon last week, were a chilling reminder of the terrorist attacks and the Bush administration's disappointing response. Mohammed praised al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the man who is No. 1 on the terrorism most-wanted list, and compared him to George Washington. He also boasted of the terrorist group's actions.

"When we made any war against America, we are jackals fighting in the nights," Mohammed said.

Counterterrorism experts have said that Mohammed's testimony should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism, saying he is a megalomaniac and may be trying to misdirect officials from other al-Qaida operations. Still, they say, there is no doubt he was an al-Qaida leader and responsible for some, if not all, of the terrorist attacks he has admitted to.

Hearing Mohammed mention some of the brazen attacks al-Qaida carried out also reminds us that the Bush administration has lost its way in the war on terrorism. The United States is in the middle of a civil war in Iraq, and spending billions of dollars that could be spent protecting the country from terrorism.

And that brings us full circle to the events of 9/11 and the reasons we went to war, which the Bush administration has long since abandoned.

Osama bin Laden is still out there - somewhere - and has yet to be brought to justice.