Over at the Corner, Jay Nordlinger says that actress Vanessa Redgrave and one of her ilk read verses from “Poems from Guantánamo,” a volume written by Gitmo detainees, after a performance of her one woman show last night. Nordlinger says he didn’t stick around for the reading (which is understandable, to say the least). So, we don’t know which detainee(s) Redgrave decided to highlight. But Redgrave has done this sort of thing in the past. For example, you can view one of her readings here.
The letter Redgrave reads in the video linked to above is by a man named Murat Kurnaz, who has become something of a celebrity in the media. He was the subject of a lengthy 60 Minutes segment, in which he was portrayed (mostly) as an innocent swept up in Pakistan for no good reason and shipped off to Gitmo.
Here’s what Redgrave, 60 Minutes and others don’t say about Kurnaz: He was allegedly recruited for jihad by Mohammed Zammar, the same man who recruited Mohammed Atta for the 9/11 operation. According to German intelligence, Kurnaz also had ties to a Taliban recruiter. It was this al Qaeda/Taliban recruiting network that arranged his trip to Pakistan, where he claimed he was going simply for religious study. But that is highly doubtful. According to Kurnaz’s own mother–I’ll repeat, his own mother–he was “brainwashed” by radicals in Germany. She fretted over the possibility that he was going to commit a terrorist attack. She had good reasons. In addition to Zammar, Kurnaz had numerous ties to the radical mosques that gave us the Hamburg cell for the 9/11 operation. In Pakistan, Kurnaz hooked up with an extremist group called Jamaat Tablighi (“JT”). The JT does some missionary work, but it is also a major front for al Qaeda and the Taliban. It has been used as a cover for terrorist operatives repeatedly.
Thus, Kurnaz’s mother wasn’t the only one worried. John Rosenthal has provided a translation of the German dossier on Kurnaz over at World Politics Review. Rosenthal was also all over the 60 Minutes puff piece when it came out. In 2002, when the German government sat down to discuss the situation of Kurnaz, who is a Turkish citizen, they decided they didn’t want him back. He was deemed a “security risk.” (Ultimately, Kurnaz was freed.) Among other worries, the Germans were concerned that he was sent to Pakistan/Afghanistan for terrorist training. Training that didn’t happen because he was caught.
Proponents of Kurnaz say that he never committed a terrorist act. That is true, as far as it goes. The full truth is that Kurnaz had the appearance of someone who was being positioned for future use. Most of the 9/11 hijackers–again, some of whom were also recruited by Kurnaz’s recruiter–hadn’t committed any terrorist acts prior to September 11, 2001. But, that didn’t make them any less of a threat on September 10th. Indeed, this is the September 10th mindset that former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy, author of Willful Blindness, frequently writes about. Our policies should be designed, as much as possible, to stop attacks before they happen and not to prosecute successful terrorists after the fact.
Kurnaz has now parlayed his experience into celebrity–with the help of people like Redgrave. In the future, she should consider reading the statements of some of the other detainees who have been held at Guantanamo Bay. She could start by reading what Yemeni Abdul Rahman al Zahri said during his Administrative Review Board hearing at Gitmo:
According to September 11, 2001, I praise the attacks and other attacks. These are simple attacks against you for your criminal acts and your military invasion to the Islamic countries and a letter to you and the whole world. Muslims do not care about you. Those attacks were great attacks and opening the door for jihad in this world and Muslim relevance. My relation to the prince of Mujahedin[,] praise Usama Bin Laden. God praises him. I’m not one his men and not one of his individuals. I am one of his sons. I will kill myself for him and will also give my family and all of my money to him. I praise [Mullah] Omar. Relating to my relationship with Taliban, it is a Muslim country. My duty toward them is like any duty of a Muslim person to defend the Taliban and its stay. The truth is under convincing, regarding your designation of me as a terrorist. It is right that I don’t want to be classified. Changing the names does not change anything. You can say terrorist or Mujahedin but the truth stays the same. … With the help of God, we will stand Mujahedin and terrorists against Americans. This is so God will praise Muslims and his people.
Our jihad against you will stay. It is not based on individuals or certain people. It doesn’t stop with these people. It is the duty of every Muslim that comes from religious background. The United States cannot stop the jihad no matter what you do. The history that will come will be the dividing factor between us and you when we meet on the door step of a big conflict. I tell you do what you do and do what you say. There is only God. I don’t care about you and whoever your allies. I’m assured from God I will win that war. I beg God to help us.”
Thomas Joscelyn is the senior editor of the Long War Journal. He is directing a project that examines the unclassified intelligence gathered on current and former detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
