Binyam Mohamed landed in Britain today and before his plane had even touched down, the Guardian pounced upon the opportunity to showcase the alleged crimes of the United States by giving him space on their Comment is Free blog. In the statement he tells us how happy he is to be in Britain, and that he is 'not asking for vengeance'. Really? Well thank you so much Binyam, for promising not to attack us.
Over the last few weeks we have heard again and again the allegations regarding his torture in Pakistan and Guantanamo and this is something for which, if proven, officials from both the U.S. and Britain will need to be held to account. Amid the excitement surrounding his arrival it is easy to forget that there are two big stories here: one has been transformed into a tale about a helpless and innocent Muslim man being oppressed and beaten by an evil Bush-led mission to persecute Islam; the other is the same old boring old yarn about a young man who attended an al-Qaeda training camp to learn how to kill large groups of people and travel around the world unnoticed.
At his hearing in Guantanamo, Binyam Mohamed admitted, through his lawyers, to travelling to Afghanistan in June 2001 and attending al-Qaeda's al-Farouq training camp where he 'received 40 days of training in light arms handling, explosives, and principles of topography' and 'was taught to falsify documents'. Al-Farouq's training was reserved for only the best and most committed jihadists, and among those who have passed through its sandy gates include four of the nineteen 9/11 bombers.
We are reassured by his lawyers however, that he 'didn't go to any camp to blow up Americans'. That is not so reassuring when one considers that al-Qaeda has killed far more non-Americans around the world than Americans. This also begs the question of who he was planning on killing when he received al-Qaeda training. Questions such as this will remain unanswered as long as we only concentrate on his allegations of torture.
It is unlikely that Mr. Mohamed will have to face these types of questions any time soon as the allegations of a trained jihadist now seem to hold much more legitimacy than those of the U.S. government, who also allege a few things themselves. One allegation is that he had received specific instructions from 9/11 planner, Khaled Sheikh Mohamed, to attack the United States. They also allege that he was on his way to carry out these attacks when he was apprehended for the second time at Karachi Airport in April 2002 while attempting to travel to the US with fake documents.
It is very important that the government clarify exactly what happened to Binyam Mohamed over the last few years, and people are justified in demanding some answers. Though is must also be made absolutely clear that the British Government will not tolerate any of its residents or citizens attending training camps designed especially for teaching people how to operate effectively as terrorists within western countries.
At his hearing in Guantanamo, Binyam Mohamed admitted, through his lawyers, to travelling to Afghanistan in June 2001 and attending al-Qaeda's al-Farouq training camp where he 'received 40 days of training in light arms handling, explosives, and principles of topography' and 'was taught to falsify documents'. Al-Farouq's training was reserved for only the best and most committed jihadists, and among those who have passed through its sandy gates include four of the nineteen 9/11 bombers.
We are reassured by his lawyers however, that he 'didn't go to any camp to blow up Americans'. That is not so reassuring when one considers that al-Qaeda has killed far more non-Americans around the world than Americans. This also begs the question of who he was planning on killing when he received al-Qaeda training. Questions such as this will remain unanswered as long as we only concentrate on his allegations of torture.
It is unlikely that Mr. Mohamed will have to face these types of questions any time soon as the allegations of a trained jihadist now seem to hold much more legitimacy than those of the U.S. government, who also allege a few things themselves. One allegation is that he had received specific instructions from 9/11 planner, Khaled Sheikh Mohamed, to attack the United States. They also allege that he was on his way to carry out these attacks when he was apprehended for the second time at Karachi Airport in April 2002 while attempting to travel to the US with fake documents.
It is very important that the government clarify exactly what happened to Binyam Mohamed over the last few years, and people are justified in demanding some answers. Though is must also be made absolutely clear that the British Government will not tolerate any of its residents or citizens attending training camps designed especially for teaching people how to operate effectively as terrorists within western countries.
