Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

“ Sheikh Mohammed said that good operational security would have dictated that an operative not try to call attention to himself in the U.S. Sheikh Mohammed said that there is no benefit to having someone arrested by U.S. authorities, and he would not intentionally have an operative arrested as part of an operation. Sheikh Mohammed stated that he gave special training on life in the U.S. to some of the 9/11 operatives who did not have knowledge of the West so that they could function there without drawing undue attention. ”

“ Al-Qahtani was selected by Bin Laden or Abu Hafs Al-Masri for the 9/11 operation, but he possessed no operational or basic knowledge that would qualify him for such an operation. When Sheikh Mohammed tasked Al-Qahtani to obtain a U.S., Swiss, French, Italian, or Australian visa, Sheikh Mohammed needed to explain the existence of visa regimes to Al-Qahtani. ”

“ Sheikh Mohammed claimed that he wanted to get as many muscle hijackers as possible to the U.S. to enhance the odds for a successful hijacking, even if there were as many as six or seven hijackers or more per flight. There were four muscle hijackers for three planes and three muscle hijackers for the fourth plane because that was the maximum number of operatives that Sheikh Mohammed was able to find and send to the U.S. before 9/11. ”

“ San Diego, according to Sheikh Mohammed's research, had several English-language and flight schools...Sheikh Mohammed claimed that there was no al Qaeda operative or facilitator in the United States to help al-Midhdar and al-Hazmi settle in the United States. Sheikh Mohammed also denied that al-Midhdar and al-Hazmi were engaged in casing activity while in San Diego, given that they barely knew how to function in U.S. society. ”

“ Most of the other hijackers grew up in urban environments. The al-Shehhi brothers, for example, had grown up in a well-off family in the city and were well-traveled. Sheikh Mohammed's misgivings about Al-Qahtani notwithstanding, he blamed Al-Qahtani's failure on facilitator al-Hawsawi because al-Hawsawi gave Al-Qahtani only a one-way ticket and provided him with only limited information about his points of contacts in the U.S., which in Sheikh Mohammed's view were the causes for Al-Qahtani's deportation. ”

“ This was because al Qaeda was not at the stage of selecting targets, as they needed to identify and train additional pilots, select and transport the supporting operatives into the U.S. and allow them to train and do any necessary surveillance. Sheikh Mohammed also said that he was consumed with the responsibilities of managing the 9/11 operation, and thus was unable to direct much attention to the second wave plot. ”

“ On both occasions, Sheikh Mohammed was able to withstand Bin Laden's pressure by asserting that his hijacking team was not ready yet.
The Hijackers Travel Through Dubai, UAE
66. The hijackers traveled to the U.S. via Dubai, where they met with Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi ("al-Hawsawi") and received final instructions on security and were informed that they had been selected to participate in a suicide hijacking operation of U.S. aircraft. The distribution of the hijacking teams was decided by Atta who communicated that information to al-Hawsawi. ”

“ But for the sake of this beard Sheikh Khalid, do not speak at the Mosque to-day. I know the people of this City: they are ignorant, obtuse, fanatical, 313 blind. ‘God hath sealed up their hearts and their hearing.’ They will not hear thee; they can not understand thee. I know them better than thou: I have lived amongst them for forty years. And what talk have we wasted. They will not hear; they can not see. It’s a dog’s tail, Sheikh Khalid. And what Allah hath twisted, man can not straighten. ”

“ In particular, the Prophet gained two notable converts to Islam: Khalid, who had commanded the cavalry that brought about the Moslem defeat at Uhud, and Amr—who was equally versatile in poetry, diplomacy, and military strategy—were so impressed by Mohammed’s magnificent gesture in conducting the Moslems to Mecca that [p. 216] they decided to desert the vacillating Koreish and cast their fortunes with the progressive cause of Islam. ”

“ While we recommend, therefore, the prudence of the oleaginous Ahmed, we can not with justice condemn the perversity of our fretful Khalid. For he who makes loud boast of spiritual freedom, is, nevertheless, a slave of the Idea. And slavery in some shape or shade will clutch at the heart of the most powerful and most developed of mortals. Poor Khalid! if Truth commands thee to destroy the memorandum of Ahmed Bey, Wisdom suggests that thou destroy, too, thine address. And Wisdom in the person of Sheikh Taleb now knocks at thy door. ”

“ The Sheikh cannot and will not have fighting in his school, and he calls them up to him. They begin to scream and kick and call for their mothers, but it is of no use. Sheikh Mohammed will have order. ”

“ So she lifted me up and I said, "Support me, that I may walk." So she supported me and I went along thus, still stumbling in my skirts, till we came to the river-bank, where we saluted the Sheikh and I said to him, "O uncle, art thou Aboul Muzeffer?" "At thy service," answered he, and I said, "Take these dirhems and buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply, God may vouchsafe me a profit of it." Quoth the Sheikh to his companions, "Do ye know this youth?" "Yes," replied they; "he is known as Abou Mohammed the Lazy, and we never saw him stir from his house till now." ”

“ He was the sheikh (i.e. spiritual guide) of Keláún, Sultán of Egypt, and having come to Brúsah for the purpose of being present at the taking of Islámból, became a disciple of Zeïnu-d-dín Háfí, and was called Jubbeh ’Alí, from his always wearing a jacket (jubbeh) made of horse-cloth; he was afterwards, when Mohammed marched against Islámból, made chief baker (ekmekchí-báshí) , and provided, no creature knows how, from one single oven the whole army, consisting of many hundred thousand servants of God, with bread as white as cotton. ”

“ Then said Khâlid, "He is worthy through this deed." And he called the young man to him, and kissed him on the forehead, and commanded to fetch the father of the girl, and said to him, "O Sheikh! verily we had determined upon executing the law of mutilation upon this young man. But God, the Glorious and Most High, has preserved us from so doing. And verily I have ordered for him ten thousand dirhems as a compensation for his hand, and a reward for his care of thy and thy daughter's reputation, and for preserving the honour of you both. ”

“ III. A Letter from Yousuf, Pasha of Tripoli, to the Sheikh of Bornou.
“Praise be to God, and prayers be unto him who was the last of the Prophets (Mohammed) .
“To the learned and accomplished, the virtuous Iman, the jealous and zealous defender of the Mohammedan faith, our true friend the Sheikh Mohammed El Kanemy, Lord of the country of Barnooh [66] , and its dependencies, whom may God protect and dignify, and prolong his life long in happiness and felicity. Peace be unto you, and the mercy and blessings of God be upon you, as long as the inhabitants of the world shall exist. ”

“ No sooner had the Al Quaida mastermind eaten it than the Taleban cleric, Mullah Mohammed Omar, snuck up like Death in a brown hood and robe. The one eyed reptile then cut off Gabriele's head with his hatchet. Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Sheik Mohammed then began their game of volleyball. Mullah Mohammed Omar stood at the side of an invisible net counting score as the two other men volleyed the head over the line which he had dug into the dirt with a stick. ”

“ He even becomes a quidnunc, prying now and then into the personal affairs of his superiors. Ay, and he dares once to suggest to his employer a new method of dealing with the criminals among his clients. Withal, Khalid is slow, slower than the law itself. If he goes out to serve a summons he does not return for a day. If he is sent to search title-deeds, he does not show up 80 in the office for a week. And often he would lose himself in the Park surrounding the Register’s Office, pondering on his theory of immanent morality. ”

“ Khalid-Ibn-Waleed, in the year of his victory, A.H. 11, when he was sent to call the Bani Jazima to embrace Islam, had made them prisoners and ordered their execution. Some of the better-informed of the Moslems of the injunctions of the Koran, of releasing prisoners either freely or by exacting ransom, interposed and accused him of committing an act of the Time of Ignorance. Mohammad, much displeased, grieved at the intelligence, and said twice, 'O God! I am innocent of what Khalid hath done.' [5] ”

“ And whether in Beirut 132 or in New York, even the moralists and reformers, like the hammals and grocers, will ask themselves, before they undertake to do anything for you or for their country, “What will this profit us? How much will it bring us?” And that is what Khalid once thought to oppose and end. Alas, oppose he might––and End He Must. How can an individual, without the aid of Time and the Unseen Powers, hope to oppose and end, or even change, this monstrous mass of things? ”

“ Im-Hanna is cooking the last dish of mojadderah; and Khalid, with some vague dream in his eyes, and a vaguer, far-looming hope in his heart, 133 is sitting on his trunk wondering at the variety of things Shakib is cramming into his. For our Scribe, we must not fail to remind the Reader, is contemplating great things of State, is nourishing a great political ambition. He will, therefore, bethink him of those in power at home. ”

“ We are tired of wings that are really nothing but horns, misshaped and misplaced.
Look at our French-swearing, whiskey-drinking Tataric angels of the Dastur! Indeed, we rejoice that our poor little Devil is now beyond the reach of their dripping steel and rickety second-hand gibbets. And yet, not very far; for if the British Government consent or blink, Khalid and many real reactionists whom Cairo harbours, would have to seek an asylum elsewhere. ”

“ Think you a Tammany Boss is like your atheists and attorneys and women of the studio, at whom you could vent your ire without let or hindrance? These harmless humans have no constables at their command. But his Shamrag Majesty––O wretched Khalid, must we bring one of his myrmidons to your cellar to prove to you that, even in this Tammany Land, you can not with immunity give free and honest expression to your thoughts? Now, were you not summoned to the Shamrag’s presence to answer for the crime of lèse-majesté? And were you not, for your audacity, left to brood ten days and nights in gaol? ”

“ And expressing his liking for Khalid, he advises him to be careful of his utterances in Damascus, if he believes in self-preservation. ‘I am old,’ he continues; ‘and the ulema do not think my flesh is good for sacrifice. But thou art young, and plump––a tender yearling––ah, be careful sheikh Khalid. Then, I do not talk to the people direct. I talk to them through holy men and dervishes. The people do not believe in a philosopher; but the holy man, and though he attack the most sacred precepts of the Faith, they will believe. And Damascus is the very 309 hive of turbans, green and otherwise. ”

“ And he relates of the Buha when he was on trial in Rhodes. “Of what religion are you,” asks the Judge. “I am neither a Camel-driver nor a Carpenter,” replies the Buha, alluding thereby to Mohammad and Christ. “If you ask me the same question,” Khalid continues––“but I see you are uncomfortable.” And he takes up the cushion which had fallen behind the divan, and places it under her arm. He then lights a cigarette and holds it up to her inquiringly. Yes? He, therefore, lights another for himself, and continues. ”

“ But he can not even work. On the table before him is a pile of newspapers from all parts of Syria 300 and Egypt––even from India––and all simmering, as it were, with Khalid’s name, and Khalidism, and Khalid scandals. He is hailed by some, assailed by others; glorified and vilified in tawdry rhyme and ponderous prose by Christians and Mohammedans alike. “Our new Muhdi,” wrote an Egyptian wit (one of those pallid prosers we once met in the hasheesh dens, no doubt) , “our new Muhdi has added to his hareem an American beauty with an Oriental leg.” ”

“ A FEW minutes before midnight on the fifteenth of May, in the year 2036, Khalid the Magnificent, lord and master of the greatest and most splendid realm that had ever been ruled over by a single man since the world began, stood alone on the spacious terrace of his palace in Alexandria, gazing up at the myriads of stars that shone in the cloudless firmament above him, and dreaming one of those dreams of world-wide empire which had haunted the soul of such men as he from the days of Rameses the Great until his own. ”

“ For he would as lief be a victim of success, he assures us, as to forego his mojadderah. And still having this, which he considers a luxury, he is willing to turn his hand at anything, if he can but preserve inviolate the integrity of his soul and the freedom of his mind. 78 These are a few of the pet terms of Khalid. And in as much as he can continue to repeat them to himself, he is supremely content. He can be a menial, if while cringing before his superiors, he were permitted to chew on his pet illusions. A few days before he burned his peddling-box, he had read Epictetus. ”

“ Hoolihan. For you must know that not every one you meet in Bohemia is not a Philistine. Indeed, many helots are there, who come from Philistia to spy out the Land.
We read in the Histoire Intime of Shakib that Khalid did become a Tammany citizen, that is to say, a Tammany dray-horse; that he was much esteemed by the Honourable Henchmen, and once in the Wigwam he was particularly noticed by his Shamrag Majesty Boss O’Graft ”