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How very gravely he had underestimated life. His own he had hated, and had wished away; but see how long it was taking to absent itself—and with what helpless grief was he watching it go, imperturbable in its beauty and its power. Even as his flesh fried and his blood boiled, there was life, kissing its fingertips, then it echoed out, and ended. —Martin Amis, “The Last Days of Muhammad Atta,” New Yorker, April 24, 2006 [14] SUPERMAX After observing the accused on a daily basis over several months, Judge Sand offered, “I have no doubts about the sincerity of the defendants. I don’t know of any motivation other than their beliefs.” He paused thoughtfully before adding, “That makes them more dangerous.”1 Those convicted for the African embassy bombings have been dropped into the void at the super-maximum-security facility in Florence, Colorado, under strict SAMs. They live in total isolation, except for perfunctory contact with prison staff. As a result of the assault against Officer Pepe, terrorist prisoners are handled with absolutely rigid adherence to procedure. For twenty-three hours of the day, they are alone in their cell. For the remaining hour they are brought to a pen where they can exercise alone. Their situation is harsh and hostile. It’s difficult to imagine that any one of them has much to think about other than his sins, whether he perceives those to be of commission or omission. Josh Dratel believes that the harsh application of SAMs is meant to compensate for their having escaped the death penalty, “As if ordinary prison is really too good for them. There has to be a way to ratchet up the punishment so they can suffer more.”2 Of the supermax, Schmidt said, “It’s about the worst in our country. I think it’s inhumane and inappropriate. Being incarcerated there, el Hage is troubled.”3 The medical literature shows that solitary confinement has a deep psychological impact on prisoners. There seems to be a consensus that incarceration in isolation for periods exceeding three months causes “serious psychiatric symptoms.” The sensory deprivation of the stress concrete cell and the absence of human contact leaves inmates confined in solitary to suffer mental torpor, frustration, anger, anxiety , hypersensitivity, and agitation. Thoughts can become confused and obsessive.4 Without a past on which to reminisce fondly or a future on which to project hope, the mind tends to spin like a gyroscope unable to find its bearing. Life without possibility for parole is life without possibility. 146 Al Qaeda Declares War Approaching a fork in the road between life and death at breakneck speed, human nature reflexively veers to life. Horrifyingly, the suicide terrorist breaks the grip of this primal instinct and turns toward death. Of course, of these defendants , only al-’Owhali ever agreed to die for the cause. But he too, given a split second, grabbed onto his last ditch opportunity to survive. “People find solace in life,” David Stern said reflectively when addressing how K. K. copes with his prospects in Florence. “He does his time uncomplainingly, living as best he can. He is treated professionally by the staff. He has grown a tremendous amount, and he’s done it all on his own. He has thought deeply about what he did. It was a terrible thing. He killed people doing menial labor. And he’s dealing with the consequences with dignity.”5 Is this remorse? Only K. K. could say. Removed from the camaraderie of the jihadi brotherhood, and the reinforcement that comes from the support of people with shared beliefs, remorse may seep through the cracks in his hatred. Whether it is remorse for his own hardship or for his victims, we’ll never know. In any event, hopelessness may be cause for remorse in itself. Al Qaeda invests “significant care and feeding into its operatives. During the investigation into the 2006 aviation plot, the British discovered how often they had to pull people in from the field,” said former FBI Agent Joe Billy, referring to an abortive conspiracy to blow up as many as ten Canadian and American flagged trans-Atlantic flights departing from London using liquid explosives disguised as beverages. “You’re ready to be a martyr, but maybe not this year. Maybe next. They think a guy’s all set to go, then he gets cold feet. So they bring in the spiritual people, put an arm around him. They need a...

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