Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, two others, reach plea deal with the US for 9/11 terror attacks

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of being the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks in the US, has agreed to plead guilty, according to the Defense Department.

This comes nearly twenty-three years after the terror group Al-Qaeda carried out the deadliest terror attack in the history of the United States and the world.

Mohammed, along with accomplices Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter their guilty pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week.

The development could bring a long-delayed resolution to the attack that claimed thousands of lives and changed the global social and political landscape forever. 

Defense lawyers have requested that the men receive life sentences

The Department of Defense, said,

Defense lawyers have requested that the men receive life sentences in exchange for their guilty pleas.

This request was detailed in letters sent by the federal government to relatives of some of the nearly 3,000 victims killed in the 9/11 attacks.

A letter from Rear Admiral Aaron Rugh, the chief prosecutor in the case, sent to the families, said that in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table, the three would plead guilty to all charges, including the murder of 2,976 people.

They will be sentenced by a panel of military officers, ABC News reported.

They also agreed to respond to questions from the verified 9/11 family members "regarding their roles and reasons for conducting" the attacks.

The defendants will submit their responses within 90 days.

While not all families of the victims agree with the move and are frustrated by the lack of a death penalty trial, human rights organisations have welcomed the decision, calling it a "just" response to the US government's torture of the defendants. 

Mixed reactions from families of 9/11 victims

The three men will face a military jury to hear evidence and deliver sentences, potentially by next year. 

While some family members of the victims are relieved that there is a resolution in sight, others are visibly upset over the lack of a death penalty trial.

Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, an organisation that represents survivors and family members of the victims, said the families were "deeply troubled" by the plea deals, and pushed for more information about Saudi Arabia's involvement in the attacks. 

Terry Strada, the head of another group for the families, invoked the many relatives who have died while awaiting justice, and said of the defendants,

Strada said many families have just wanted to see the men admit guilt but she was personally expecting a trial and the punishment. 

Michael Burke, whose brother, a fire captain, died in the attacks, said:

Burke highlighted the incongruity of the plea deal with the expectations of immediate justice that followed the attacks.

His brother, Billy Burke, demonstrated heroism by staying with two men unable to evacuate the North Tower of the World Trade Center, underscoring the personal losses felt by many families.

Delayed justice and historical impact

The US agreement with the defendants comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began, and over 20 years after the 9/11 attacks. 

On that fateful day, militants hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing three into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, while the fourth crashed into a Pennsylvania field after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.

Mohammed, believed to have conceived the idea of using planes as weapons, was captured in 2003.

He was subjected to waterboarding 183 times while in CIA custody before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

The use of torture has been a significant obstacle in the prosecution, rendering much of the evidence inadmissible and causing prolonged delays in the trial proceedings.

Daphne Eviatar, a director at Amnesty International USA, welcomed the accountability but also called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center and urged the Biden administration to ensure such state-sanctioned abuses do not happen again.

“The Biden administration must also take all necessary measures to ensure that a program of state-sanctioned enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment will never be perpetrated by the United States again," she said.

The attacks triggered the US government's "war on terror," leading to military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and extensive operations against extremist groups in the Middle East.

This period saw the overthrow of governments, widespread destruction, and significant political upheaval, including the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said that the DoD's decision was the "right call". Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said,

A political issue ahead of US presidential elections?

The decision did not take long to be invoked in the US presidential campaign by the Republican party. 

During a campaign speech Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona, Trump campaign vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance slammed the deal squarely. 

"Now, just think about the point that we've gotten to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, have weaponized the Department of Justice to go after their political opponents, but they're cutting a sweetheart deal with 9/11 terrorists,"  Vance said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also condemned the prosecutors' decision.