Posted on 10/06/2009 2:43:48 PM PDT by topfile
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has decided not to seek the death penalty against a former Guantánamo detainee who was ordered by President Obama to face trial in a civilian court in New York.
Mr. Holder communicated the decision to federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Friday, and they in turn informed the federal judge who is presiding in the case.
“You are authorized and directed not to seek the death penalty against Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani,” Mr. Holder wrote to Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Mr. Ghailani faces federal charges of conspiring in the 1998 bombings of the United States Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks organized by Al Qaeda that killed 224 people and wounded thousands.
Afterward, he became a fugitive, and he received weapons training in a Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, military authorities have charged. They said that he also worked as a bodyguard and cook for Osama bin Laden, as well as a document forger for Al Qaeda.
Mr. Ghailani was captured in 2004 and held in secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency until 2006, when he was moved to the Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
A Tanzanian believed to be in his mid-30s, Mr. Ghailani has claimed in court papers that he was a victim of cruel interrogation techniques and was not afforded the right to remain silent or to have a lawyer.
The case is considered an early test of President Obama’s goal of closing Guantánamo and of trying terrorism suspects in the federal courts “whenever feasible,” as the president said in May.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
He’ll be given the fast track to citizenship in order to serve as a poll watcher for the 2010 and 2012 elections.
The “Die Quickly” comment comes to mind.
Oh wait. Lots of those folks were natives to Africa, so, maybe they don’t count?
Of course, not we would not want to “offend” the Islamoterrorist.
>> He’ll be given the fast track to citizenship in order to serve as a poll watcher for the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Yeah, but first, you’ll get to pay for his legal team, and then watch them mock US justice on teevee.
His trial will serve as a template for the others to come; they will get better and better at sticking their finger in America’s eye.
And then... they will be released into our communities, to kill our citizens.
What a sweet deal, eh?
No great surprise from the Muslim-in-Chief and his corrupt thug in the Justice Department.
Obama appointed Pareet Barara to the Southern District of NY last summer. From an article last May 15:
“The brief bio on Bharara: He’s served as Schumer’s chief counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee since 2005. He oversaw the congressional investigation into the Bush administration’s firings of eight U.S. attorneys in 2006, which led to the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.”
In other words, this guy doesn’t need much prompting from Holder. He’s already a left wingnut, more interested in going after Bush and Cheney than our real enemies.
What’s the cutoff for the death penalty for Holder, 225?
The Dems will execute Americans and give a pass to non-Americans. That's the lesson I learned.
No Real Americans are the Bad ones here with this racist Garbage.
Only white people who commit terrorist acts are fully responsible and can be punished with the death penalty. Timothy McVeigh was put to death in what must be an all time record for least amount of days spent on death row. Found guilty and sentenced to death on June 13, 1997 he was executed on June 11, 2001. He was the first Federal prisoner executed since 1993.
The two crimes seem nearly identical. In both cases US Government buildings were targeted by groups unhappy with US Policy and massive destruction and death occurrred.
However in this case the accused is not a white man, but a black. I seriously doubt Holder and Obama’s over-developed sense of racial grievances (including the longstanding “inequitable sentences” canard) would allow either one to go for the death penalty when the perp is a person from a group qualified for affirmative action preferences.
So typical of the Democrats to favor a mad bomber. They do this over and over and over. Must have given ol’ Bill Ayers a tingle to hear this.
Correction: should read “first Federal prisioner executed since 1963, not 1993.”
That’s ok. They weren’t Bambi’s type of Kenyan anyway. Working at the embassy probably meant you weren’t a radical Marxist or a radical Islamic, and as we all know, they’re Bambi’s only true soul brothers.
Is this perp FROM Kenya?
Is he connected to Odinga or the Orange Party of Kenya?
Is he of the Luo tribe?
Inquiring minds want to know.
John / Billybob
These pictures are brought by the First Amendment (while it lasts).
How and the hell can he tell the court to charge or not charge a person in a federal case?
Is it not a two tiered “justice” system?
Blacks can attack whites at the polls helped by Obama and AG Holder.
Terrorists freed after murdering Americans by Obama and AG Holder.
Get-Out-Of-Jail Cards for anyone in the DNC (see Berger).
Congressmen can play the stockmarket and banks with impunity.
Brothels and criminal illegals are the new arteries running through America.
My bet is that he is Odinga connected.
We need to find that out.
224 dead, but it does not rate the death penalty.
Mark my words, if osama is ever captured he will not face the death penalty.
The al Qaeda suspect alleged to have been involved in the 1998 United States embassy bombings1998 United States embassy bombings
In the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings , hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous car bomb explosions at the United States embassy in the East African capital cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya....
that killed 11 people faces nine war crimes charges, six of them offenses that could carry the death penalty, if he is convicted by a military tribunal, it was reported on March 31 2008. Scott L. FenstermakerScott L. Fenstermaker
Sorry, no overview for this topic
and David Remes are in a rare dispute as to who has authorized to assist Ghaliani.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ahmed_Khalfan_Ghailani
Oh boy nothing like them proving Osama right about America being a paper tiger! Dipsh!ts all!
It would of been cheaper to send in the CIA or Spooks and just blown these bastards to hell.
oh boy...maybe the muslim in the WH is worried about what the Saudi Wahabbe retaliation might be if his adminstration carries out a death sentence on a muslim...it’s got to be a very delicate situation. The Saudi’s can decapitate their own in chop-chop square, but woe-betides The Great Satan should do the same. He’s walking bare-foot on broken glass...so to speak, but better to create an outrage at home than upset the the true masters, hey?
Mybe if he committed adultry we can chop his head off.
if they don’t support the death penalty for someone who killed 224 people then they have no business ruining .. er I mean running our government
Go figure - Obama gives the death penalty to millions of innocent unborn babies, yet this murdering muslim gets a pass.
Is it okay if we give him a stern talking-to?
What you say is true of murderers extradited from certain countries, mostly European. They won’t extradite unless the U.S. promises not to impose the death penalty.
But I don’t see any indication that that applies in this case. This terrorists was “captured,” I think by our military, and held by the CIA in Guantanamo.
The article says: “Mr. Holder’s letter offered no reasons for his decision.”
So, you are right about certain extradition cases, but I don’t think that applies here.
I read the ny times piece and that is the reason they are giving.
The only surprise is that Holder didn’t set the guy free with a plane ticket to Chicago, a job with ACORN, and $100k spending money to ‘get on his feet’.
Actually it's more like an excuse. The Spokesman said "Other" defendants (not Ghailani specifically) was covered by extradition agreements.
That is what I thought too.
Of course Bill Ayers would naturally offer to be the host family.
Perfect...Obama Administration making excuses for terrorist.
Anti-Obama Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!!
Obama again proves his ability to make the tough choices.
Arguments for severity:
1) People killed
2) Bombing in Kenya
Arguments for mercy:
What the hell, it was only the United States embassy.
Recommendation: a plea bargain, sentenced to time served, if only the accused will agree to serve as a witness against Bush and Cheney in the upcoming CIA trials.
Case closed!
"Tuesday, the South African government issued a warning that Al-Qaida militants and other terrorists traveling through Europe had obtained South African passports,..." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1180328/posts
FEBRUARY 11, 1998 : (MONROVIA, LIBERIA : JESSE JACKSON MEETS WITH LIBERIAN PRESIDENT CHARLES TAYLOR) [Jesse] Jackson first met [Charles] Taylor in Monrovia [Liberia] on Feb. 11, 1998, thanks to the intercession of an old friend, a Liberian named Romeo Horton who had become a close aide to Taylor. Taylor had just been elected president of Liberia after a campaign riddled with intimidation in which he sent his infamous "Small Boys Units" throughout the countryside, waving their machetes at anyone who refused to vote for their man. But instead of hectoring Taylor on human rights and democracy - after all, that was Jackson's brief - Jackson embraced the Liberian strongman, as shown in a State Department after-action memo obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
"During his 24 hours in Liberia, the Rev. Jackson met several times privately with President Taylor and appeared to establish a strong personal bond with him," the April 29, 1998, memo from the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia reads. "After Jesse Jackson's visit, President Taylor went out of his way to stress that Liberia is America's best friend in Africa, and that it was time to improve the bilateral relationship - a 180-degree change in direction from the public posture of the Taylor government before the Jackson visit."
In neighboring Sierra Leone, Sankoh and his Revolutionary United Front (RUF) militia had massacred tens of thousands of civilians and, teamed with disgruntled military officers, had driven elected president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah into exile. Jackson said in an interview that he considered Sankoh and Taylor to be like the gang leaders in Chicago, who could be "redeemed" by his careful ministrations. Rather than confront them, Jackson befriended them, over the howls of the State Department professionals.
"Secretary [of State Madeleine] Albright delegated Africa policy to [U.S. Rep. Donald] Payne [of NJ] and the Congressional Black Caucus," Sierra Leone's outspoken ambassador to Washington, John Ernest Leigh, told this reporter. A House International Affairs Committee staffer who followed Jackson's meetings with Taylor put it more bluntly: "The whole effort under Clinton was to mainstream Charles Taylor, and Jesse Jackson had a lot to do with it."-------- "Jesse, Liberia and Blood Diamonds," By Kenneth R. Timmerman, Insight Magazine , July 25, 2003
MARCH 1998 : (CLINTON TRIP TO AFRICA INCLUDES WILSON, WILLIAM "COLDCASH" JEFFERSON OF LOUISIANA & BETTIE CURIE) To: Howlin "I want to know where Wilson got the money for that crap [ his $14,000 Rolex watch, then he bragged to Victor about several things (possessions and trips to Aspen, etc.), like his expensive car (I think it was a Mercedes)] BEFORE he wrote his book." Have you forgotten that it was Joseph Wilson who was the "Advance Person" for Bill & Hill's 200 million dollar vacation to Africa. Wilson handled the contracts, because he knew lots of people in Africa. We all know there is no corruption in Africa and the idea that Joe Wilson might have gotten kick backs from 200 Million Dollars worth of Contracts is something this honest man Joe Wilson would never do < /sarcasm > 26 posted on 07/17/2005 9:11:28 PM PDT by MJY1288 | To 24
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[* my note: wouldn't it be a riot if Clinton had stayed in Qadeer Khan's hotel?]
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MARCH 1998 : (JESSE JACKSON SPEARHEADS CLINTON'S AFRICA TRIP - [SEE JOE WILSON/PLAME/NIGERFLAP]) As special envoy for democracy and human rights in Africa, starting in October 1997, Jackson was President Bill Clinton's point man for Africa. It was Jackson who spearheaded Clinton's 10-day African safari in March 1998, at a cost to taxpayers of $42.8 million. And it was Jackson who legitimated Liberian strongman Charles Taylor and his protégé, the machete-wielding militia leader in neighboring Sierra Leone, Cpl. Foday Sankoh. Without Jackson's active intervention, both leaders were headed toward international isolation and sanction. Thanks to Jackson, both retained power to murder another day. At Jackson's prompting, Clinton made an unprecedented phone call to Taylor from Air Force One while flying over Africa. Until then the United States had shunned Taylor because of his grisly past. Among Taylor's many "accomplishments" were the murder of American Catholic nuns in Liberia and the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia.
The mainstream media has resolutely ignored Jackson's involvement in the diamond wars of Liberia and Sierra Leone, and he never has been hauled before a congressional committee to account for this behavior [see Kenneth R. Timmerman's New York Times best seller, Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson (Regnery Publishing, March 2002)]. -----"Jesse, Liberia and Blood Diamonds," By Kenneth R. Timmerman, Insight Magazine | July 25, 2003
APRIL 29, 1998 : (US EMBASSY DIPLOMAT IN MONROVIA, LIBERIA PENS MEMO ON JESSE JACKSON'S FEB 11, 1998 VISIT TO LIBERIA) "During his 24 hours in Liberia, the Rev. Jackson met several times privately with President Taylor and appeared to establish a strong personal bond with him," the April 29, 1998, memo from the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia reads. "After Jesse Jackson's visit, President Taylor went out of his way to stress that Liberia is America's best friend in Africa, and that it was time to improve the bilateral relationship - a 180-degree change in direction from the public posture of the Taylor government before the Jackson visit."------- "Jesse, Liberia and Blood Diamonds," By Kenneth R. Timmerman, Insight Magazine , July 25, 2003
JUNE 17, 1998 : (AFTER DIVORCING CLINTON'S AFRICA TOUR PLANNER, THE FORMER AMBASSADOR JOSEPH WILSON, JAQUELINE C WILSON BECOMES A REGISTERED AGENT FOR GABON; HE SOON GOES ON TO MARRY ALLEGED CIA "SPY" VALERIE PLAME) JACQUELINE C WILSON was a registered agent for Gabon. She registered as an agent of Gabon on June 17, 1998 (not long after their divorce) and had received $100,000 prior to the registration. Summary of payments by year: 1998 ($280,0000), 1999 ($250,000); 2000 ($75,000 ); 2001 ($39,000); and 2002 ($8,000). She was not listed as an agent in 2003. ------182 posted on 11/03/2005 5:05:52 PM PST by kabar | To 69
AUGUST 7, 1998 : (US EMBASSIES ARE BOMBED IN KENYA & TANZANIA) Terrorists Bomb U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
SEPTEMBER 1998 : (LIBERIA : CHARLES TAYLOR'S SSS GOES AFTER RIVAL ROOSEVELT JOHNSON AND ASSASSINATES HIM IN THE ENTRYWAY OF THE US EMBASSY WHERE HE HAD SOUGHT REFUGE - See GEMSTONE TRADE/CONFLICT DIAMONDS, JESSE JACKSON) In September, just five months after the "reconciliation" Jackson hosted in Chicago, Taylor's Special Security Service went on a killing rampage in an effort to track down and eliminate rival warlord Roosevelt Johnson, an ethnic Krahn whom Taylor accused of plotting a coup. When Johnson sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy, Taylor's men gunned him down in the entryway, wounding two embassy employees. The State Department was not amused, and asked Jackson to reprimand Taylor by phone. No record of what Jackson actually said was released but, in November 1998, during another visit to the region, Jesse again treated Taylor as a statesman.----- "Jesse, Liberia and Blood Diamonds," By Kenneth R. Timmerman, Insight Magazine , July 25, 2003
SEPTEMBER 1998 : (MONROVIA, LIBERIA : CHARLES TAYLOR MEETS WITH US EMBASSIES BOMBINGS PLOTTER ABDULLAH AHMED ABDULLAH) Accounts in the report include an alleged September 1998 get-together at Taylor's executive mansion where middlemen introduced him to Abdullah [Egyptian Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, wanted in the 1998 attackson US embassies in E Africa].
The Liberian leader subsequently directed the al-Qaida figure to rebels controlling the mining of fine gems in neighbouring, diamond-rich Sierra Leone, the investigators quote sources as saying. ------Al-Qaeda bought diamonds ahead of Sept. 11 attacks, UN investigators told myTELUS ^ | August 07 2004 | The Canadian Press
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