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NEW YORK — The imam entangled in the investigation into a suicide bomb plot against New York City subway stations left the U.S. Monday on court orders after admitting he lied to the FBI. Among his final words on U.S. soil, his lawyer says, were "God bless America."

(CNN) -- A New York imam who pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents as they investigated an alleged terror plot left the United States on Monday as part of his plea deal, a government spokesman and the imam's attorney told CNN. Imam Ahmad Afzali and his wife left on a 2 p.m. flight to live in Saudi Arabia, said Afzali's attorney, Ron Kuby. A government spokesman confirmed Afzali's departure. After his guilty plea earlier this year for lying to federal agents in the case involving Najibullah Zazi's alleged subway bombing plan in New York City, Afzali had 90 days...

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

Ahmad Afzali, the Queens imam who pleaded guilty in March to lying to law enforcement officials about his relationship with Najibullah Zazi, the airport worker who planned to bomb New York's subways, was sentenced by a federal judge yesterday to time served. Mr. Afzali, who left his native Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion, also agreed to "self-execute" removal from the United States in the next 90 days in order to avoid a deportation hearing. Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Afzali warned Mr. Zazi and his father that they were under law-enforcement surveillance, then, as Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Loonam told...

A Queens imam pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to feds who were investigating whether he tipped off wannabe terrorist Najibullah Zazi that he was being watched. Ahmad Afzali faces six months in prison and deportation 90 days later under the plea deal - which he said amounts to an execution. "I just signed my death sentence," the Afghan national said outside court, explaining that he has no idea where he would go after leaving the United States. "I'm between a rock and a wall." Afzali lost his composure several times during the proceeding before Brooklyn Federal Judge Frederic Block, wiping...

Note: The following news brief is a quote: http://ny1.com/8-queens-news-content/top_stories/109259/queens-imam-involved-in-terror-investigation-granted-holiday-travel 11/20/2009 09:14 AM Queens Imam Involved In Terror Investigation Granted Holiday Travel By: NY1 News The Queens imam under house arrest for allegedly interfering with a terror investigation will spend Thanksgiving in Virginia. According to reports, Ahmad Afzali was given permission to travel to his father’s home for the holiday. A federal judge in Brooklyn approved the trip after a request was filed by Afzali’s attorney. Federal prosecutors reportedly did not oppose the request, but the office of pretrial services was concerned his electronic ankle monitoring bracelet would be out of...

Note: Photo and video included. SNIPPET: "Ahmad Wais Afzali, 53, is charged with tipping off Najibullah Zazi that New York City police detectives were after him. Afzali is also accused of lying about it to federal agents. The Imam remains free on bail." His lawyer says the indictment is "merely a tired rehash of the same discredited allegations."

Pittsburgh was treated to an impressive show the week of the recent G20 conference. A nice assortment of military choppers of various types and missions, along with odder aircraft difficult both to identify and explain. Both police and the National Guard were out in force, with downtown nearly sealed off. None of this hardware was used against the "3,000 - 4,000" (more like a few hundred) anarchist demonstrators when they turned their righteous wrath on a dozen Starbucks and a Whole Foods store. No serious confrontation was expected and none occurred. Because all of it - the Guard troops, the...

Federal authorities arrested an airport shuttle bus driver and his father in Colorado and another man in New York City on Saturday night, charging them with lying to investigators about an alleged terrorist plot to detonate an improvised explosive against an unknown target in the United States. Acting swiftly late Saturday after a week in which investigators worked intensely in New York and Denver to put together a case, F.B.I. agents arrested Najibullah Zazi, 24, his father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, 53, who both reside in Aurora, Colo., and Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, who lives in Flushing, Queens. The arrests indicated...

BULLETIN -- NEW YORK POLICE AND FBI RAID HOMES IN QUEENS IN TERRORISM INVESTIGATION.6 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters