9/11 PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS UPDATE: DAY 4 / NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

November 11, 2024

Hello from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Day 4 (2) in the final week of the 53rd session of the Office of Military Commissions (OMC) pre-trial hearings on the 9/11 case.

Today’s session began at 9:00 AM. Present in the courtroom of Air Force Col. Judge Matthew McCall were lead prosecuting attorney Mr. Clayton Trivett and members of the prosecution team, defense attorney’s Mr. Gary Sowards (representing KSM/MOH – also present), Mr. Matthew Engle (representing WBA/ Walid bin ‘Attash – not present), Mr. Walter Ruiz (representing Mustafa al Hawsawi/MAB – not present), and administrative members of team Ammar al Baluchi (aka Ali Aziz Adam Ali / AAA) – not present. Present in the RHR in Washington D.C. were DoJ prosecutor Col. Jeffrey Groharing, CoL. Joshua S. Bearden, lead defense attorney Mr. James Connell (AAA), and the government’s (prosecution) witness, Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner.

Housekeeping issues included three items: 1. Mr. Clay Trivett’s oral motions for not setting a date for entry of the pleas and time to coordinate with other teams. Judge McCall stated that he preferred to go forward with entry of the plea with KSM and the government. He will issue dates by the end of this week. The judge announced that the third week of this session is cancelled. 2. Mr. James Connell stated that the military court directed prosecution to confirm on the severance of a possible stay order. He states that the question of severance is premature and unnecessary at this time warning that such an action would “create collateral damage to a scope of another order.” He also objected to the entering of the audio-video conversation with Ali, aka al Baluchi, that Dr, Welner mentioned he wished to display and comment on. 3. The government moved for another extension for motion to suppress SoD Lloyd Austin’s revoking of the PTA’s (pre-trial agreements), citing this action as “unlawful influence by Congress.” Judge McCall announced that he plans to have oral argument in the January session.

The fourth day of Testimony from Dr. Michael Welner continued with analysis of medical records for AAA (Ali). The records in question refer to the LHM’s (known as the Letterhead Memoranda) taken during the period from arrival in September 2006 to December 2006 to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Camp Seven, (GTMO). According to the Defense Information Management System (DIMS), the LHMs were made by the staff psychiatrist Dr. WK5-I and FBI interrogators upon each medical and interview contact.

What is an LHM? A report of Law Enforcement, the FBI.

AAA was transferred to GTMO, Camp Seven on September 6, 2006. This moved custody from CIA to the OMC (Office of Military Commissions). In-processing rules were read by the Camp commander, Capt. Mark M. Leary, referencing the Geneva Conventions, positing that no mistreatments can take place and they must be treated respectfully, in a humane way. During Dr. WK5-I provided evaluations, treatment, and monitoring of his mental health on a consistent, on-demand basis, along with FBI interrogation agents. Dr. Welner asserts that this was presented in order to mitigate fear, so questioning would have no impact on Ali’s ability to make voluntary choices during interviews. The goal was to create an atmosphere with an emphasis maintaining the comfort and welfare of the detainees. Dr. Welner asserted that reports speak to “the un-intrusiveness of his life by staying out of his business, allowing him autonomy, self-direction, and free choice to participate in interviews as he sees fit, indicating that there was no aspect of management to trigger PTSD.

The specific conditions of confinements were enforced as follows: 5x/day daily prayer, provision of prayer beads, rug, cap, and Qu’ran, exercise equipment, library books (for intellectual stimulation), coffee, tea whenever requested, and the ability to choose which meals to schedule for Ramadan, or not. It is important to note that Ali’s arrangement in Camp Seven was custodial not incarcerate. The focus was not on military policing, but on information gathering. Dr. Welner emphasized that access to faith promises hope and resilience, conditions that are relevant to Ali’s claims of PTSD.

no complaints of treatment by FBI and the CIA.

The over-arching points from all of the DIMS is that there is “no evidence of PTSD triggers or traumatic custodial experiences, no impact on the individual’s voluntariness to choose, and no learned helplessness. Reports of medical and physical conditions contradict Ali’s claims of PTSD. The medical records do not reflect evidence of and concerns of fear of harsh treatment.” Ali also reported that he never received harsh treatment at Guantanamo Bay.

A fifteen-minute recess was called at 10:30AM

Ali had an appreciation for Dr. WK5-I , who was his exclusive therapist. The doctor was available for anything Ali needed or wanted any time and as often as requested and conducted daily monitoring of PTSD and signs of other psychosis’. This personalized care does not compare to regular custodial facilities, where the purpose is to prevent prison catastrophe. WK5-I developed an inculteration working with Al-Qaeda operatives, which refines an ability to connect and cultivate the interviewers questions. These conditions positively effect Ali’s vulnerability to provide confessions. It is noted that Ali evidenced non-clinical symptoms of mixed anxiety-panic disorder, hypersomnia, and depression. By September 26th, his symptoms were improving as he was settling into the transition to Camp 7.

Lunch break called from 12:00-1:30 PM

Dr. Welner pointed out that there are “many levels of guilt in the minds a terrorist.” Guilt for not being a good follower of the Qu’ran, to hurting and abandoning his family, not doing what his leaders want of him, failure to Allah, to Islam.

He’s feeling happy. He’s doing pull-ups on the roof, in the rain

Ali’s primary area of concern is his worries about his family. The worries of his family weigh heavily on him and causes much of the depression and anxiety symptoms seen. Dr. Welner points out, “choosing to be a terrorist is a deviant life choice!”

To manage his depression, Ali wrote many pretend letters to his family. He also wrote letters to his captors. He controlled his anger, anxiety over medical and social conditions, and sense of lost control with self-help books. This has been termed as bibliotherapy.

Again Dr. Welner emphasized throughout LHM reports that Ali states “no complaints of treatment by FBI and the CIA. All reports indicate that he’s doing well and no acute issues were arising. There are reports of Ali having bad dreams “about things he’s done to others in the past.” Ali described another dream in detail; “I was driving in my car, had a wreck, my family died, and I was devastated. It was my fault that I harmed my family.” He cried, “I’ll never be a normal person again. I can’t change the situation I’m in but I know I can improve myself. I have to accept it. He still works toward a future. A future stolen from my husband and son.

As a family member, who’s husband (and later son), were murdered by the choices this individual made for my family, it is hard to hear about all of the struggles Ali has had post-capture and the intensity of assessments, concern, response, and treatments he’s received for his health and comfort level. Maybe, if my son received this level of help with his mental health symptoms, he’d be living his future.

An LHM dated at the end of October, 2006 reported: He asked to remain outdoors when it began to rain when exercising. “I haven’t felt the rain in three years. I choose to stay here and enjoy the feeling. “He’s feeling happy. He’s doing pull-ups on the roof, in the rain.

Thirty-minute break at 3:00.

In an LHM dated November 13, 2006, Ali is quoted, “There are a lot of things to get done. I have a lot of energy. I feel motivated.” He reported that he has some good days and some bad days. He struggles to find meaning and experiences extreme stress due to loss of family, social identity, means of support, loss of future, etc.). I, myself experience many similar feelings– sense of loss of family, future, identity, means of support both financial and emotional. I’ve often questioned my purpose in life in the void of marriage, motherhood, career, and love. I can improve myself, but not the situation that was inflicted on me and my beautiful boys. Every day I strive to accept the situation and search for meaning. These reflections elucidate a shared humanity with my terrorist. And I am disturbed because I want to identify him as a non-human entity. There is a feeling of being cancelled out. I am a ghost in my own history.

At 4:00 PM, KSM exited the courtroom at his own free will, with a 14-gallon tub of comfort toys carried by a security officer, without ankle or hand cuffs.

In a January 29, 2007 LHM, Ali is described as an “educated mental health consumer.” Dr. Welner explains, the shiny object is the 3,000 people he killed and the subject is his sense of failure, “because many social relation situations have broken in the past.” Ali questions how to resist the powerful force of the exposure therapy that is being employed to break down his emotional walls.

After reading nearly a thousand documents from 2007 to the near present, and Ali’s letters, Dr. Welner concludes that overall, Ali demonstrates optimism, motivation, and resilience. He is religiously inspired, giving him a sense of confidence that he is “going to get through this–this is how, I must,” a reflection of his faith and devotion to his God.

Judge McCall announced a thirty-minute break at 5:00 PM, anticipating another two-hours of testimony. The VFM’s decided to exit the gallery and observe the remainder of the testimony in the comfort of the VWAP (Victim’s Witness Assistance Program) family room. The remainder of testimony consisted of further examination of LHMs with the same line of questioning following each of Dr. Welner’s in-depth analysis’: Does this report reflect symptoms of PTSD? Of psychosis? Does this report reflect an impact on an individual’s voluntariness? A learned helplessness? “No.”

Court is recessed at 7:00 PM. This concludes analysis of the LHM’s and CIA summaries. Dr. Welner’s testimony will resume, Tuesday, 11/12 at 9:00 AM.

Dr. Michael Welner displayed a remarkable knowledge of the subject and material, sharp focus and analysis of the situations, individuals, and implications of behaviors in question, while maintaining a level demeanor over an eight-hour period. Dr. Welner is known as one of the top forensic psychiatric examiners working in litigation in national and international court proceedings. He has worked on cases such as Etan Patz, Elizabeth Smart, Andrea Yates, Omar Khadr. He is known for creating the Depravity Standard https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235217305342

Note: Posting of this account was affected by timing and WIFI integrity. Though court schedules are set on a daily basis by the judge, he has the discretion to momentarily alter the timing based on the presence of classified information introduced to the hearings, personal issues with key personnel, technical issues, acts from Congress, as well as unpredictable predicaments. After court recessed at 7 PM, the VFM’s were escorted to O’Kelly’s Pub for dinner and returned to the NGIS (Navy Gateway Inns & Suites) at 9 PM. Also, no electronic devices are allowed in the courtroom.

© Deborah Garcia, all rights reserved