London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Alleged 9/11 mastermind, Gitmo detainees to start getting COVID vaccines

Alleged 9/11 mastermind, Gitmo detainees to start getting COVID vaccines

Here’s a real kick in the shin: chances are accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will get the COVID vaccine before you do.

Accused terror masterminds like KSM and other detainees at Guantanamo Bay will begin receiving the coronavirus vaccine, the Pentagon confirmed Friday, even as the United States continues to experience severe shortages of the miracle jab.

A spokesman for the Department of Defense confirmed that officials had signed an order which will see COVID-19 vaccinations “offered to all detainees and prisoners.”

The shots could be given as soon as next week.

“It will be administered on a voluntary basis and in accordance with the Department’s priority distribution plan,” spokesman Michael Howard told The Post.

Forty detainees remain at the United States military prison in Cuba, including the man accused of plotting the worst attack on US soil, which claimed 2,977 inncocent lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and has since been linked to thousands of other deaths.


The Pentagon’s decision comes as states like New York complain that their cupboards are bare, forcing them to cancel a mass inoculation program, and the Biden administration warns that shortages of the jab will last well into 2021.


The order was signed on Jan. 27 by Terry Adirim, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs who was sworn in as a Biden appointee on Inauguration Day, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed.

The move immediately sparked outrage from New Yorkers who lived through and helped bring New York back from its darkest day.

“You can’t make this up. The ridiculousness of what we get from our government. They will run the vaccine down to those lowlifes at Guantanamo Bay before every resident of the United States of America gets it is the theater of the absurd,” said Tom Von Essen, who was city Fire Commissioner during 9/11 and lost 343 firefighters on 9/11.

“It’s f—ing nuts,” he said of KSM getting the vaccine before most Americans can.

John Feal, a demolition supervisor at the Ground Zero pile in the aftermath of the attacks who has various 9/11-related illnesses, and who has not yet gotten the vaccine, was stunned by the news.

“The fact that the 9/11 community can’t get the vaccine and the terrorists can show how backward our government is,” he told The Post. “It’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. It’s an insult to the people who ran into the towers and were killed and those who worked on the pile for months and are ill.”

The average 9/11 responder was 38 at the time and are now age 58-59, short of the cutoff to get the vaccine in New York, said Feal, who runs the Feal Good Foundation, an advocacy group for 9/11 responders and who helped push Congress to permanently extend the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.

Brian Sullivan, a retired special security agent with the Federal Aviation Administration, said, “I’m incensed. It’s totally outrageous. I’m 75. I haven’t gotten my COVID vaccine. They’re going to give it Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?”

Sullivan added it’s a scandal that the terrorists haven’t faced justice approaching the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. “This news adds insult to injury. It’s slap in the face to the 9/11 victims’ families,” Sullivan said.

“This year will be the 20th anniversary and the terrorists are still at Guantanamo. And now we’re going to give them the COVID vaccine. It’s just insane.”

Two other men, accused of being accomplices to the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, which killed 202 people, would also be in line to get the vaccines under the Defense Dept. order.

The Pentagon’s decision comes as states like New York complain that their cupboards are bare, forcing them to cancel a mass inoculation program, and the Biden administration warns that shortages of the jab will last well into 2021.

On Tuesday, The Post revealed that thousands of New York City teachers have had their COVID-19 vaccine appointments canceled due to dwindling supply and scheduling snafus.

“It is inexcusable and un-American that President Biden is choosing to prioritize convicted terrorists in Gitmo over vulnerable American seniors or veterans,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

Retired FDNY Lt. Michael O’Connell worked search and rescue when the towers fell. It left him with sarcoidosis, an auto immune disease.

“This is a real kick in the balls. It’s very upsetting. It’s absolutely disgusting,” he said of the Gitmo vaccination order.

“These terrorists committed harm but the patriots are the one who have to wait to get vaccinated. We responded within 10 seconds of when the first plane crashed into the building. Here we are a year later [since the COVID-19 outbreak] and the politicians can’t get it right on the coronavirus vaccine.”

Comments

Oh ya 4 year ago
America must be so proud of China joe and the ho. At least trump was America first but not sleepy. Its anyone but you first for joe

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×