I have been amazed at Zacarias Moussaoui’s behavior in his dealings with what will most likely be the institution which will, in the end, murder him. His bravery, foolishness, or whatever you want to call it, in the face of such overwhelming odds is astonishing. I really want to know what the result of all this will be. From the Washington Post (the least stupid account of events I’ve seen today):
In addition to declaring his allegiance to Osama bin Laden and saying he was a member of the al Qaeda terrorist network, Moussaoui said: “I will be able to prove I have certain knowledge about September 11, and I know exactly who done it. I know which group, who participated, when it was decided. I have many information.”
Moussaoui, 34, a French citizen, said he was pleading guilty to the six charges against him in order to move on to the penalty phase and try to save his life. Four of the counts carry the death penalty.
“For the guilt phase, I’m guilty,” he told the judge. “But for the death penalty, we will see.”
Brinkema told him that if he truly wanted to plead guilty, he should consider negotiating a plea bargain, which could result in the government’s dropping its death penalty demand. “I’ll give you at least a week to think about that,” the judge said.
“I don’t need it,” Moussaoui replied. “I’ve been thinking for months.” …
“I want to enter a plea, I want to enter a plea of guilty,” Moussaoui said. “I want to enter a plea today of guilty because this will ensure to save my life.”
Brinkema urged him to stop and told him his words could be used against him. He continued: “I have knowledge and I participated in al Qaeda. I am a member of al Qaeda. I pledge bayat [allegiance] to Osama bin Laden.”
What can he be trying to do?