http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4906572.stm Moussaoui stands by 9/11 attacks Al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui says he has "no regret, no remorse" for the attacks on 11 September 2001 in the US that killed nearly 3,000 people. When asked by a lawyer whether he would be prepared to kill Americans, he said: "Anytime, anywhere." Earlier, he turned on his court-appointed lawyers, accusing them of "criminal non-assistance". He was testifying before jurors who are deciding whether he should be executed for his role in the 9/11 attacks. Defence lawyers say Moussaoui's life should be spared because of his limited role in the attacks, evidence of mental illness, and because his execution would only fulfil his dream of martyrdom. 'Head of the snake' Moussaoui took the stand against his lawyers' advice on the opening day of their defence. He gave a lengthy explanation about why he hates Americans, and criticised US support for Israel. You are American, you are Jewish... You showed clearly to me that you didn't have my best interests at heart Zacarias Moussaoui "You are the head of the snake for me. If we want to destroy the Jewish state of Palestine, we have to destroy you first," he told the court. He turned to the Koran for evidence he said backed up his claims that Muslims are called to fight for supremacy for Allah. "We have to be the superpower, we have to be above you," he said. 'Trust in God' During the morning session, he accused his lawyers of having a "vested interest in keeping this case in your hands, above my interest to save my life". He complained they had failed to obtain a trial venue further away from the Pentagon, one of the areas affected by the attacks, or give him a Muslim lawyer. I don't want to die Voice on Flight 93 recording "I wanted to have somebody in court who I trust," he said, speaking calmly and politely. Asked by defence lawyer Gerald Zerkin if he thought he was helping his case when he testified earlier that he had planned to pilot a plane into the White House, he replied: "I was putting my trust in God, so from an Islamic point of view, yes." The defence clearly wants to portray its reluctant client as paranoid and unstable, says the BBC's Jane Little at the court in Alexandria, Virginia. He was repeatedly asked whether he thought his own lawyers wanted to kill him. "I will say that I believe you have, in the last four years, been doing what I will call more precisely 'criminal non-assistance'," he told them. "You are American, you are Jewish... You showed clearly to me that you didn't have my best interests at heart." He also denied he was seeking the death penalty for himself despite papers filed in court which record him as saying that "the greatest jihad in Islam is to speak the truth and be executed for it". Lies in prison Earlier, the al-Qaeda plotter could be heard shouting "Victory for Moussaoui! God curse you all!" in the courtroom. The defence tried to counter prosecution arguments that he would remain a danger if kept alive in prison by producing testimony from a former prison officer. James Aiken said Moussaoui would gradually deteriorate if sentenced to life in prison. Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, is the only person convicted in the US in connection with the 11 September attacks. The jury deciding his fate has already declared him eligible for the death penalty. Although he was in jail in Minnesota at the time of the attacks, jurors ruled that lies told by Moussaoui to federal agents kept them from identifying and stopping some of the hijackers. FLIGHT PATHS OF HIJACKED AIRCRAFT ON 11 SEPTEMBER 2001 American Airlines Flight 11: Boston-Los Angeles (AA 11) 0759 Flight takes off 0814 Last routine radio communication; likely takeover 0846 Fighter jets scrambled to find aircraft 0846 Flight crashes into 1 World Trade Center (north tower) United Airlines Flight 175: Boston-Los Angeles (UA 175) 0814 Flight takes off 0842 Last radio communication 0842-0846 Likely takeover by hijackers 0903 Flight crashes into 2 World Trade Center (south tower) American Airlines Flight 77: Washington DC-Los Angeles (AA 77) 0820 Flight takes off 0851 Last routine radio communication 0851-0854 Likely takeover by hijackers 0854 Flight makes unauthorised turn to south 0937 Flight crashes into Pentagon United Airlines Flight 93: Newark-San Francisco (UA 93) 0842 Flight takes off 0927 Last routine radio communication 0928 Likely takeover by hijackers 0957 Passenger revolt begins 1003 Flight crashes into field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4906572.stm Published: 2006/04/13 21:35:31 GMT BBC MMVI -- -------------------------------------------------------- Escaping the Matrix website http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website http://cyberjournal.org blog: cyberjournal forum http://cyberjournal-rkm.blogspot.com/ blog: Achieving real democracy http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ blog: for readers of ETM http://matrixreaders.blogspot.com/ blog: Community Empowerment http://empowermentinitiatives.blogspot.com/ Blogger made easy http://quaylargo.com/help/ezblogger.html subscribe cyberjournal list mailto:•••@••.••• Posting archives http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?lists=newslog
