By the way, the above is simply incorrect. The first World Trade Center bombing was in 93, the Saudi AF barracks in 96, the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 98, and the USS Cole in 2000.
Ihab Ali Mohamed is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Egypt. He has been held in a U.S. jail for several years, accused of lying to a grand jury about his connections to bin Laden. Evidence at trial indicated that Ali had passed messages for Al Qaeda and had trained to be bin Laden's pilot.
The U.S. attorneys described defendant Wadih El Hage as a leader of the Nairobi cell who had to leave Africa after being interviewed by the U.S. FBI in 1997. The other three defendants appear to be lower level cell members who were all trained at Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan. Wadih El-Hage, 40, is a naturalized American citizen who was born in Lebanon. He has admitted being Osama bin Laden's personal secretary. He was accused of being the key organizer of the Kenya cell and of setting up front companies in Kenya for Al Qaeda. He left Kenya almost a year before the bombings, after being questioned by the FBI in Africa. At the time of the bombings, he was living in Arlington, Texas, with his wife, April, and seven children. El Hage claimed he only worked for bin Laden in legitimate businesses and had no contact with him since 1994. El Hage was charged with conspiracy to murder Americans and could face life in prison. Outcome: Convicted in May 2001. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole on October 18, 2001.
This trial began in January of 2001 and sentencing was in May 2001...obviously prior to Sep 11, 2001
The recently completed trial of four Osama bin Laden associates in U.S. Federal Court in New York City -- the trial began in January 2001 and sentences were handed down in May 2001 -- provides a revealing glimpse into the workings of the Osama bin Laden network, called Al Qaeda or "the base." Four men were tried on charges related to the simultaneous bombings at two American embassies in Africa on August 7, 1998, which killed 224 people and wounded thousands.Shortly after the embassy bombings, the U.S. government claimed that Osama bin Laden was responsible. They issued a lengthy indictment of bin Laden and many of his associates in the late fall of 1998. According to court documents, the U.S. government had actually been tracking a bin Laden cell operating in Kenya before the bombings and they were able to quickly link these men to the bombings. Several were arrested and brought to the U.S. for trial. Other key operatives escaped and are still at large.
The trial began in U.S. District Court in New York City in January 2001. The evidence presented at the trial paints a detailed picture of the Al Qaeda organization and a history of bin Laden's life and political beliefs
Not as far as the intent of Congress in the drafting and passage of that bill is concerned. In the rush post 9-11 don't think they addressed the question at all.
BTW, it looks to me like Wadih El Hage got due process.
I really don't understand your resistance to taking the information they had on Al Awlaki to a judge for a death warrant or a finding that he is a member of or is specifically aiding AQ. They could have got it done in a few hours. There aren't so many US citizens in AQ that it is any kind of impediment. What I don't want is the President being able to say, "Oh, all those guys in FreeRepublic.com opposed to me are therefore helping AQ." Yes, that's absurd, but there is NOTHING in the law you've cited from preventing it.
Congress has no power to delegate to the President the power to deny due process for any American citizen, nor is it within the spirit of the Constitution to deem the president's whim as to who dies as equivalent to due process. That is why we have divided government and Constitutionally limited powers.