GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba -- Hijacked jets plunged into the World Trade Center and the towers toppled again and again on a huge flat screen at the Guantánamo war court on Monday as the Pentagon showed a graphic, $20,000 made-to-order movie about al Qaeda at the trial of Osama bin Laden's driver.

Everyone watched in stony silence, expressionless, from the accused to the six U.S. military officers serving as jurors in Yemeni Salim Hamdan's terror trial.

It was the sixth day of the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War II and began with dry legal wrangling about when the U.S. war on al Qaeda began.

But the day ended with a 26-minute, stomach-wrenching cavalcade of archival mayhem -- from a grisly panorama of charred corpses in the 1998 suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, to black-masked al Qaeda trainees learning to slit a throat.

Also included were audible moaning and wails of ''Oh my God'' as the trade center was shown toppling from several angles on Sept. 11, 2001.

The video itself was controversial. The Pentagon paid counter-terror consultant Evan Kohlmann to produce it and supplied him with some of the images he spliced into it. The tab was $45,000 and broke down like this -- $20,000 for the seven-part, 90-minute film and $25,000 for his testimony, including preparation.

Prosecutors will not have to pay Kohlmann to play it at future trials, said Air Force Maj. Gail Crawford, a war court spokeswoman.

Moreover, Hamdan lawyer Charlie Swift repeatedly tried to keep the most gruesome parts out, notably the 9/11 portion, arguing that it would inflame and bias the jury.

''We now need screaming, bodies, to illustrate that this is terrorism?'' Swift asked. ``This is to terrorize the jury.''

Clayton Trivett Jr., a case prosecutor, countered: ``That's why we are here at a war crimes tribunal. These people are trained in military operations, and war is hell.''

The military judge whose job is to decide the evidence and the law at first excluded what he called the ''carnage'' as ``more prejudicial than probative.''

''Specifically, the planes crashing into the towers and the people screaming doesn't prove anything,'' Navy Capt. Keith Allred said in a ruling from the bench.

But later he changed his mind, noting that the prosecution had already shown footage of charred cadavers in the Kenyan bombing.

Afterward, the Pentagon's deputy defense counsel, Mike Berrigan, said Allred handed defense lawyers ''a significant appeal issue'' by allowing evidence that appeals to emotion, not reason.

Hamdan, 37, is accused of conspiracy and providing material support for terror.

There is no evidence Hamdan knew the details in advance or had a role in plotting the death and destruction portrayed in the movie.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@