Free Republic

This week on "Take AIM," Accuracy in Media's Thursday morning show on BlogTalkRadio, Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI) discusses health care reform. Commander Kirk Lippold, senior military fellow with Military Families United, discusses the Obama administration's release of Guantanamo Bay detainees, as well as his experiences as commanding officer of the USS Cole when it was attacked. AIM chairman Don Irvine and media analyst Roger Aronoff host. Listen live on Thursday, September 10, at 11:00 am Eastern here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Accuracy-In-Media/2009/09/10/Take-AIM For more information about our guests, see www.mikerogers.house.gov and www.militaryfamiliesunited.org. Take AIM airs every Thursday at 11:00 am Eastern on BlogTalkRadio. Can't...

(CNSNews.com) - A terror suspect charged with the attempted murder of two U.S. soldiers -- before a judge ruled that his confession was coerced and inadmissible -- returned home to Afghanistan on Monday, the same day news broke of a policy change in interrogations. After many Democrats and some Republican lawmakers called the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogation techniques such as playing loud music and waterboarding “torture,” President Barack Obama reassigned interrogation responsibilities from the CIA to the National Security Council – which is run out of the White House, the Washington Post first reported.

WASHINGTON -- The CIA's internal investigator found that interrogators conducted mock executions of terror suspects and in one case threatened a detainee suspected in the USS Cole bombing with a gun and power drill, congressional officials said late Friday. The disclosure is contained in a 2004 report by the CIA's inspector general, which has keep secret and is to be released next week, two officials told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not yet been cleared for release. The report's findings were first reported by Newsweek on its Web site Friday night. In...

A long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general to be released next week reveals that CIA interrogators staged mock executions as part of the agency's post-9/11 program to detain and question terror suspects, NEWSWEEK has learned. According to two sources—one who has read a draft of the paper and one who was briefed on it—the report describes how one detainee, suspected USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was threatened with a gun and a power drill during the course of CIA interrogation. According to the sources, who like others quoted in this article asked not to be named...

Investigators are trying to determine whether a San Diego sailor passed Navy secrets about security weaknesses and warship movements to a British man accused of having terrorist links, according to court documents unsealed yesterday. E-mail messages from the unnamed sailor, sent in late 2000 and 2001 before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, were found in December in computer files belonging to Babar Ahmad, who was detained Wednesday in London, according to the 31-page arrest affidavit. The computer files contained details about security arrangements and movements of the San Diego-based Constellation carrier battle group, which included the destroyer Benfold, on which...

San Diego – A former sailor aboard a San Diego-based ship allegedly praised a deadly terror attack on a U.S. destroyer and communicated with a British man arrested on suspicion of having terrorist ties, according to a court document unsealed Friday. The sailor on the USS Benfold, whose name has not been released, allegedly sympathized with the jihad cause and sent e-mails to anti-Western Web sites run by Babar Ahmad. British police arrested Ahmad, 30, earlier this week on a U.S. extradition warrant charging that he used the Internet to help Taliban fighters recruit and raise money. The USS Benfold...

The sister of Seaman James McDaniels, a sailor killed in the terror attack on the U.S.S. Cole wants President Barack Hussein Obama impeached over his decision to withdraw charges against the al Qaeda mastermind of the attack.Diane McDaniels, the mother of the slain sailor, related her daughter's outrage over the President's decision during an interview on the Fox News Channel show Your World with Neil Cavuto this afternoon.Ms. McDaniels also expressed her own regret for having voted for Obama last November. She declined an invitation to meet Obama with other Cole family and crew members and 9/11 families at the...

[L]ast week, after more delays in the process, the administration called victims of the Cole, Bali and Sept. 11 attacks together again to receive an update about the work of the Detainee Review Task Force. The meeting was emotional and heart-wrenching. Each person was given the opportunity to speak about the impact the president's decisions were having on him or her and loved ones. The brave families of our heroes showed true courage in that room. Once again, they had traveled to Washington to express their frustration at seeing justice delayed. If they were truly involved, and the administration were...

In Washington today and tomorrow, the DOJ's Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (OVT) is briefing American family members of those murdered by terrorists, as well as those injured during terrorist attacks. The stated purpose of the briefing is to: ...[offer] those interested the opportunity to meet task force members, hear an overview of task force work, and express views about the policy questions the Detention Policy Task Force is studying. Please click on the link for the Detention Policy Task Force to see some of the questions that the task force is considering. ... For those unable...

News reports described the meeting as a touching and powerful coming together of the president and these long-suffering families. Mr. Obama had won over even those who opposed his decision to close Gitmo by assuaging their fears that the review of some 245 current detainees would result in dangerous jihadists being set free. “I did not vote for the man, but the way he talks to you, you can’t help but believe in him,” said John Clodfelter to the New York Times. His son, Kenneth, was killed in the Cole bombing. “[Mr. Obama] left me with a very positive feeling...

Original Article: Accused Terrorist on Trial in Jordan Attended Classes at Sac State; Initiation to Terrorism May Have Started in Sacramento, According to Published Reports. Layla Bohm State Hornet (Student Newspaper) November 27, 2001 Former Sacramento State student Raed Hijazi at his trial in Jordan Nov. 26. Hijazi pleaded innocent to nine charges stemming from a plot to execute terrorist attacks on America and Israel during Millenium celebrations in December 1999. Courtesy Photo/A He was a typical California student. Born in San Jose Dec. 3, 1968, Raed Hijazi eventually attended Sacramento City College, took a Sacramento State extension course...

EC interviews USS Cold dad Gary Swenchonis, and US Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) about the betrayal of our troops, and islamophilia in the White House at 11:30 on BTR

Militants who have had terrorist training or are affiliated with terrorist organizations are supposed to be excluded from entering our country — even when we are not in a state of war against them — under U.S. statutory law. As NR's editors observed in October: In the 2005 REAL ID Act, Congress explicitly provided for the exclusion from the U.S. of any alien who has received terrorist training or has belonged to an organization that promotes terrorism — against anyone. The Uighurs are ineligible on both grounds: Even if one accepts, for argument’s sake, the contention that their dispute is...

EC interviews the father of fallen hero Petty Officer Gary Swenchonis. The mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole is in US custody, but Obama dropped the charges against him. Other admitted conspirators are walking free. What's going on here? Learn the truth about how US policy hasn't done squat to avenge the lives lost to Al Qaeda on that day. A must listen for any American who has ever worn a uniform, or who loves someone who does. Let's turn up the heat on our pols to do the right thing by those who gave their lives in...

Evil Conservative Radio at 7PM on Wednesday, 25 February: 1. Before 9/11, Al Qaeda attacked the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen. 17 American heroes were murdered, including 26 year old Navy Fireman, Petty Officer Gary Swenchonis. On Feb 5, Obama dropped the charges against mastermind Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. EC is honored to interview Petty Officer Swenchonis' father about this betrayal, and his subsequent refusal to meet with Obama. Every American who ever wore a uniform should support Gary Swenchonis, Sr. and be irate at this abomination. 2. EC will interview US Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA), about Obama's Trillion-Dollar...

"Swenchonises seek justice in son’s death Killed in terrorists’ 2000 bombing of USS Cole" SNIPPET: "For more than eight years Gary and Debbie Swenchonis have mourned the loss of their son, Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., who was killed Oct. 12, 2000, along with 16 other sailors, when terrorists attacked the USS Cole in Port Aden, Yemen." SNIPPET: "So how do the Swenchonises feel about Obama’s plans? “We think Obama should be impeached if the terrorists are freed because of his intervention on their behalf,” said Swenchonis. Should the local family give up its fight against the big government machine? Would...

President Barack Obama has told relatives of victims of the bombing of the USS Cole and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that his most important responsibility is keeping the U.S. safe. Obama met with about 40 family members on Friday to explain why he believes closing the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will make the country safer and ensure justice for the terror suspects being held there. Obama is concerned that terror suspects have been held for years without trial. He has signed an executive order to close the facility within a year. One woman who attended said...

Two weeks ago, I was among a small group of USS Cole and 9/11 victims’ families who met with President Obama at the White House. Despite President Obama’s assurances that the safety and security of the American people is his number one priority, I left the meeting with little confidence that the President appreciates the grave consequences of shutting down Guantanamo or the complex problems associated with adjudicating detainee cases in the federal court system. Indeed, he told us that he is “not at all concerned” about the security issues of bringing the detainees to the U.S. His rationale for...

Debra Burlingame has previously reported President Obama smiled and admitted that he had not visited Guantanamo (to 40 family members of the victims of the USS Cole and September 11 attacks during his February 6, 2009 White House meeting with them). Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced he will visit Gitmo: Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told reporters today that he would travel Monday to the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of his effort to determine how to handle the 245 remaining terrorism suspects detained there. "We need to have our feet on the ground...

U.S. Army military judge Col. James L. Pohl refused the Obama administration's request to delay the arraignment of Abu al-Nashiri, the accused planner of the 2000 USS Cole attack in Yemen. The Saudi Arabian is accused of orchestrating the October 2000 Al Qaeda suicide bombing that killed 17 American sailors. The Pentagon war crimes prosecutor has been seeking military execution against Nashiri. Pohl's decision goes against Obama's recent executive order, which put a hold on all military tribunals for 120 days while the administration reviews how to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within the year. ''The Commission is bound...

The TV and the written press keep referring to the attack on the USS Cole as having been a “terrorist” attack. Any definition of the word “terrorist” insists that the attack described be against a civilian target with an aim of resulting in a political change. I do believe that this word is being used so as to elicit sympathy and, to some, fear and therefore urge the public be skeptical when they come across it in the press. Recently, I came across the use of “victims,” referring to crew members on the Cole that were killed, instead of “casualties”...

<p>President Obama is caught smack in the middle of a family feud among 9/11 relatives of a financier killed at Ground Zero, The Post has learned.</p> <p>The brothers of Adam Arias went ballistic when they learned that their aunt, Valerie Lucznikowska, was among the 9/11 relatives invited to last week's White House meeting with Obama. The brothers were not invited.</p>

Sen. Jim Inhofe joins group fighting to keep prisoners in Cuba BY CHRIS CASTEEL Published: February 11, 2009 Inhofe, R-Tulsa, praised the group, Move America Forward, and said he is pushing legislation that would prevent any of the prisoners from being moved to prisons in the United States. Inhofe, who recently returned from a visit to the prison in Cuba, said the detainees are treated well and that the prison is serving a valuable purpose. Asked whether the prisoners should remain at the prison indefinitely, Inhofe said, "I wish there were more choices. There really aren’t. I guess we could...

Criticizes Obama's Terrorism Policies http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/02/10/top_stories/doc49913ba1e7c0e951117995.txt

It started two days after Obama became the president. Obama directed the closing of the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, even though he has no clue what to do with the terrorists detained at Guantanamo. At the two-week mark of the Obama presidency, the president was asked in a television interview why he didn't use the phrase "war on terror." Obama's Carter-like naive response was to say he believes the U.S. can win over moderate Muslims if he chooses his words carefully: In meeting with families of September 11 terrorist attacks and the 17 sailors killed in the terrorist...

Mother-Of-Killed Sailor Regrets Voting For Obama (video) http://www.exposeobama.com/2009/02/08/mother-of-killed-sailor-regrets-voting-for-obama/

President Obama assured relatives and victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole that he is keeping an open mind about how to handle the approximately 245 detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to participants in an hour-long meeting yesterday at the White House. The president met with about 40 family members and victims, who hold different views on his decision to close the prison in Cuba within a year. The exchange, which was sometimes passionate but never acrimonious, left some who were deeply skeptical of the administration's decision...

The mother of James McDaniels lost her son in the U.S.S Cole bomblng. She refuses to meet with Pres. Obama after case against the led suspect was recently dropped. Watch on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cwZjvQPZEY

WASHINGTON — After an emotional, private meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama, survivors and victims' relatives of two al Qaida attacks said Friday that the president quelled some of their fears about closing the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention center, promised them an "open-door" policy and a hand in shaping anti-terror policies, and said he is considering a modified military commission system to try detainees. In a question-and-answer period with Obama that lasted about 35 minutes, some of the roughly 40 attendees affected by the USS Cole and Sept. 11, 2001, attacks emphasized concerns that a year might...

Rahim al-Nashiri is the accused mastermind of the USS Cole bombing that killed 17 American sailors. He was one of the three al Qaeda prisoners to be water boarded. He confessed. The charges against him have been dropped because of President Obama's request that legal proceedings against Gitmo detainees be halted pending a review of the process. President Obama has directed that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp be closed within one year. I guess he will release this monster at that time. The families of the USS Cole are very angry. I agree with them. This is an outrage. They...

WASHINGTON - President Obama met with the relatives of 9/11 victims and the 17 sailors killed in the bombing of the USS Cole this afternoon - promising them he "would get quick justice" despite plans to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. "[Obama] said he wanted to close Guantanamo because it has become a bad symbol to the world," said Valerie Lucznikowska, a member of the Sept. 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.

A USS Cole victim's mother declined the invitation to meet with the Commander in Chief. "I voted for him, now I think I made the wrong decision." Video at this link

War On Terror: Charges against the mastermind behind the bombing of the USS Cole are dismissed. He will be retried, but not by a military commission that would have given him the death penalty he deserves.Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell announced on Thursday that Susan Crawford, the convening authority for military tribunals at Guantanamo, has made the decision to withdraw charges against Abd al-Rahim Hussain Mohammed al-Nashiri. This is the Saudi man believed to be the architect of the bombing of the guided missile destroyer USS Cole, killing 17 American sailors, as it sat in the Yemeni port of Aden. The...

Here is video of a mother of one of the sailors killed in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000 speaking out today against President Obama for his decision to drop the charges against the mastermind of the attack. She refused to meet with Obama today at the White House, and says he is letting down America's guard against Terrorists. Very powerful statements. . . . (Watch Video)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2009 – Charges against an accused terrorist being held at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were dismissed yesterday by the judge who oversees the military commissions system, Defense Department officials said. Susan J. Crawford, the convening authority for military commissions at Guantanamo, yesterday dismissed the government’s charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in accordance with President Barack Obama’s order to temporarily halt activities there, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told the Pentagon Channel today. However, Nashiri isn’t going anywhere, Morrell pointed out. The suspected al-Qaida operative, he said, will remain confined at Guantanamo and...

Diane McDaniels lost her son James when terrorists bombed the U.S.S Cole On October 12. 2000. 17 American sailors died in that terrorist attack and refused an invitation to the White House to meet with President Obama. VIDEO

A Mrs McDaniel was guest on the Neil Cavuto Show and was commenting on her thoughts that led her to refuse to meet with Obama today with other Relatives of sailors killed on the Cole. In her serious as a heart attack negative comments on the meeting was the comment by her daughter that Obama should be impeached

Glen Beck has taken Obama to task and slammed him for his behavior and stated Obama is going soft on terrorism. He is about to have the former Cole Commander on and the family of one of the murdered sailors about their meeting at the Whitehouse with Obama and his decision to drop all charges against the terrorist that murdered 17 U.S. Sailors.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, preparing Friday to meet with families of terror victims, is concerned that Guantanamo Bay detainees have been held for years without trial. Obama wants to close the detention center in Cuba, and has signed an executive order to do so within a year. He has invited relatives of Americans killed in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the next year to the White House for a meeting Friday afternoon. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Obama will discuss his plans for Guantanamo Bay with the terror victims'...

A top officer slammed Obama's decision to seek the withdrawal of charges against the 2000 suspected U.S.S. Cole ship bomber. The commanding officer of the U.S.S. Cole during the 2000 attack slammed President Barack Obama Friday for his decision to seek the withdrawal of charges against the suspected ship bomber and the president’s order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. “Personally, I am very disappointed he has gone forward with this,” said retired Cmdr. Kirk S. Lippold on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show. “But more important is the impact that has on the families who have waited for eight years for...

Page 2 of 2 Back USS Cole suspect charges dropped Believed to be mastermind of attack on Navy ship Eli Lake and Stephen Dinan, THE WASHINGTON TIMES Friday, February 6, 2009 Comment Print Font Size Share Got a Question? You Report Click-2-Listen Buzz up!The al-Nashiri trial was the last one still ongoing Thursday night because Col. James L. Pohl, the chief judge of the Guantanamo Bay War Crimes court, refused to abide by the executive orders. Peter Gadiel, whose son died in the Sept. 11 attacks and who runs 9/11 Families for a Secure America, will attend the Friday meeting....

"prepared to announce the dismissal of all the commission cases — i.e., not only against Nashiri but against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 plotters. September 10 America is back. "

More calm than I would be.

Obama presser on now -- Gibbs is saying that the families of the US sailors murdered and maimed aboard USS Cole in 2000 have been "disappointed" that the Al Qaeda murder leader hasn't yet been brought to justice. Thus, freeing this murderer is a step towards bringing the victims justice. Is this man insane or just being forced to tell lies?

~ EXCERPT ~ >>> snip <<< Gary Swenchonis, a Texas resident whose son, Gary Jr., was killed in the Cole bombing, told FOX News he turned down an invitation from the White House to meet with Obama. Swenchonis said he received the invitation Thursday, and that he did not care to travel from Texas to Washington on such short notice to hear the "bad news" that charges were withdrawn in the al-Nashiri case. Swenchonis and his wife Deborah wrote a letter to Obama last week expressing their concerns about the halting of military trials at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility....

“Very disappointed” is how the former USS Cole commander put it–twice–that pursuant to Pres. Obama’s order, charges have been dropped against a presumed al Qaeda member suspected of plotting the attack on the Cole that killed 17 American sailors. “Very disappointed.” That’s one way to politely put it. Morning Joe scored an exclusive today with the poised but clearly frustrated Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold (ret.), who was the commander of the Cole when al Qaeda attacked it in 2000. Mika Brzezinski did her best to make the case for the administration’s actions, but the commander clearly wasn’t buying. Cmdr. Lippold,...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Plans to close Guantanamo are not sitting well with the Sept. 11 victims' relatives who sat stunned while two alleged terrorists declared they were proud of their role in the plot.

Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com: Charges Withdrawn Against Alleged U.S.S. Cole Bombing Mastermind [7:59 pm ET]

ABC News has learned that on Friday, President Obama will likely order the Department of Defense's Military Commission to withdraw charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The charges may later be reinstated in a military commission or pursued in a civilian court. Al-Nashiri will remain in custody. The announcement will not be made until after President Obama meets with the families of victims of terrorist attacks on 9/11 and on the U.S.S. Cole, where he will assure them that this step is not being done to be lenient towards al-Nashiri. The move is being done to stop the continued...

President Obama will gather tomorrow with victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and U.S.S. Cole bombing for a face-to-face meeting as his administration struggles to decide how to handle detainees at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, several of those invited said. The previously undisclosed meeting at the White House tomorrow afternoon will give the new president a chance to explain his decision to close the controversial prison facility where the U.S. has placed many suspected terrorists since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Obama has been assailed by conservative critics who say the decision to close the facility within a year...