TIMES ONLINE: Newly-released pictures of the alleged mastermind of 9/11 are being used by terrorist groups to inspire attacks against the United States, American experts say.
The photographs of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, taken in July by Red Cross visitors to the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba, show Mohammed sitting wearing a white robe, a red-patterned headdress and a long salt-and-pepper beard.
They are the first known images of Mohammed since a widely-distributed shot taken upon his capture in Pakistan in March 2003 showing him in a stretched white T-shirt, with dishevelled hair and a moustache. Since then, only courtroom sketches from his war crimes trial have been available.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which photographs Guantanamo prisoners as part of its mission to monitor their treatment, confirmed that it took the images and sent them to Mohammed's family.
Bernard Barrett, an ICRC spokesman, said that the photos were given only to the family and were not intended for public release, but the organisation does not impose conditions on detainee families.
The military began to allow the Red Cross to photograph Guantanamo detainees in February and the group has taken pictures of 107 inmates. Detainees are allowed to select two shots and the ICRC sends five prints to their families, along with personal messages.
Mohammed’s photos began appearing in recent days on internet sites that have previously been used by al-Qaeda and its sympathisers to communicate with each other, said Jarret Brachman, the former research director at the Combating Terrorism Centre of the US Military Academy at West Point.
Mr Brachman, now an independent terrorism researcher based in Fargo, North Dakota, said he fears the photos could breed sympathy for a man who has proudly proclaimed his role in the September 11 attacks, as well as other incidents of terrorism, while also alleging he has been tortured by the US.
“What’s problematic for me is it really humanises the guy,” Mr Brachman said. “I understand the value of these photos for family members, but at the same time this is the guy who planned 9-11.” >>> Times Online | Thursday, September 10, 2009
