5 men charged with plotting Sept. 11 attacks confess at war-crime tribunal

Five men charged with plotting the Sept. 11 attacks told a military judge Monday that they want to immediately confess at their war-crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay.

In a letter the judge read aloud in court, the five defendants – who could be executed if convicted – said they “request an immediate hearing session to announce our confessions.”

The letter implies they want to plead guilty, but does not specify whether they will admit to any specific charges. It also says they wish to drop all previous defense motions.

The judge, Army Col. Stephen Henley, asked Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants if they were prepared to enter a plea. So far, Mohammed and three others said they agreed with the letter; the fifth remained to be questioned by the judge.

Mohammed, who has already told interrogators he was the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, also told the judge Monday that he had no faith in him, his Pentagon-appointed lawyers or President George W. Bush.