US Confirms Existence of Secret Prison Network

George Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday the existence of a secret CIA prison network, and said the mastermind of the September 11 2001 terror attacks and other high-value detainees had been transferred to Guantánamo Bay.

In a robust defence of the detention regime that has brought condemnation around the world, the US president said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaida lieutenant believed to have orchestrated the attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon, and 13 other terror suspects had been sent to Guantánamo.

He said the detainees would be placed under military custody until they were brought to trial before highly controversial military tribunals.

Mr Bush said yesterday's disclosure on the whereabouts of Mohammed, captured in Pakistan in 2003, was required to begin the process of bringing him to trial. He went on to call on Congress to enact legislation setting up military commissions for the detainees at Guantánamo.

Two other suspects previously held in secret by the CIA were also identified yesterday: Ramzi Binalshibh, a would-be hijacker, and Abu Zubaydah, believed to be the most senior al-Qaida leader in US custody. Mr Bush said their detention and interrogation in the secret network of CIA prisons over the last five years had been invaluable in the war on terror. He also gave no indication that the CIA would shut down its detention centres.

"The most important source of information on where the terrorists are hiding and what they are planning is the terrorists themselves," Mr Bush said. "It has been necessary to move these individuals to an environment where they can be held in secret, questioned by experts and, when appropriate, prosecuted for terrorist acts."

The announcement that the 14 prisoners would be moved from CIA prisons to Guantánamo frustrates hopes that the detention camp there would be shut down. The president has said repeatedly in the face of international criticism that he would like to see its eventual closure.

He also signalled that the White House would continue to press Congress for a version of the military tribunals struck down by the supreme court last June.

"One of the most important tasks is for Congress to recognise that we need the tools necessary to win this war on terror and we'll continue to discuss with Congress ways to make sure that this nation is capable of defending herself," he told reporters after an earlier cabinet meeting.

The White House had sought to try the prisoners at Guantánamo at military tribunals under which suspects would not have the right to attend legal hearings, or to hear evidence against them. The supreme court ruled the tribunals violated the Geneva conventions and international standards for due process.

Mr Bush's speech yesterday brought the fullest indication since then of the administration's intentions towards the 450 detainees in the wake of that verdict and a groundswell of criticism of Guantánamo. It comes as he has sought to sharpen the focus on national security before November's congressional elections.