Posted on 07/06/2005 8:22:11 PM PDT by JediForce
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military in Iraq has detained five Americans for suspected insurgent activity, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. The five have not been charged or had access to a lawyer, and face an uncertain legal future.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to identify any of them, citing the military's policy of not providing the names of detainees. They are in custody at one of the three U.S.-run prisons in Iraq.
One was identified by his family and U.S. law enforcement officials as Cyrus Kar, an Iranian-American filmmaker and U.S. Navy veteran.
Saying Kar is being held unjustly, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the government on Wednesday in an effort to secure his release.
Three of those being detained are Iraqi-Americans, Whitman said. The fifth is a Jordanian-American the Pentagon previously had acknowledged holding.
One of the Iraqi-Americans allegedly had knowledge of planning for an attack and a second possibly was involved in a kidnapping, Whitman said. The third was "engaged in suspicious activity," Whitman said, declining to be more specific. They were captured, one each, in April, May and June.
Whitman said the Iranian-American was arrested with several dozen washing machine timers in his car; such items can be used as components in bombs. Military officials said he was arrested with a cameraman and a taxi driver.
Whitman said there did not appear to be any connections among the five.
If there are charges, it is not immediately clear whether U.S. courts or Iraq's judicial system would handle the cases.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has visited each of the detainees, Whitman said.
In Los Angeles, Kar's relatives said he was born in Iran and came to the U.S. as a child.
They said Kar, 44, was in Iraq to film scenes for a documentary on Persia's founder when Kar was arrested by Iraqi police at a checkpoint in Baghdad on May 17, a date confirmed by military officials.
"He just had the misfortune to get into the wrong cab," said Steven R. Shapiro, the ACLU's legal director. "Our position is that if the government has any evidence against him, bring him home and charge in a court and then proceed accordingly."
His family said that an FBI agent in Los Angeles told them Kar had been cleared of any charges and that the washing machine timers allegedly belonged to the taxi driver, who was transporting them to a friend.
"I'm here to beg President Bush ... to release an innocent boy," Kar's aunt, Parvin Modarress, said at a news conference announcing the suit challenging Kar's detention. "He went to Iraq to do his dream work, to make a documentary."
The FBI searched Kar's Los Angeles home in May, said a U.S. law enforcement official who spoke said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
The ACLU's suit, filed in Washington, contends that Kar's detention violates his constitutional rights, federal law, international law and U.S. military regulations.
"He's just sat there in limbo. Whatever the government's authority, it certainly doesn't allow them to do that," Shapiro said. He pointed to rulings that allow prisoners held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their detention.
Whitman said the five Americans were being held in accordance with laws governing armed conflict.
The Jordanian-American, who was captured in a raid late last year, is suspected of high-level ties to Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist and leading al-Qaida ally in Iraq. Officials announced the capture in March of the Jordanian-American.
A panel of three U.S. officers rules on whether each prisoner is properly held; that has already taken place for the Jordanian-American. Whitman did not say whether the three Iraqi-Americans or the Iranian-American have been through this process.
Whitman said it is not certain whether they will be turned over to the Justice Department or to Iraq's legal system, which has handled the prosecution of other foreign fighters.
The closest parallel to their situation may be the two American citizens captured opposing U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
John Walker Lindh and Yaser Esam Hamdi, two Taliban foot soldiers, held U.S. citizenship when they were captured in late 2001.
Lindh, a California native now in his early 20s, pleaded guilty in civilian court to supplying services to the Taliban government and carrying explosives for them. He received a 20-year prison sentence in 2002. He has since sought to have it reduced.
Hamdi was born in Louisiana and grew up in Saudi Arabia. He was held by the U.S. for three years before being released to his family in Saudi Arabia in October 2004. He gave up his American citizenship as a condition of his release.
Whitman said their cases do not necessarily set a precedent for the handling of the five Americans captured in Iraq because Afghanistan had no functioning government at the time Lindh and Hamdi were captured.
Jedi
F- the hyphen. Those aren't Americans the way I define American.
"I'm here to beg President Bush ... to release an innocent boy,"
That innocent boy should hang.
It's amazing that they're so sure of his case in such a short amount of time! (sarcasm).
The ACLU is living up to it's reputation.
Hang them high for treason.
"He just had the misfortune to get into the wrong cab," said Steven R. Shapiro, the ACLU's legal director. "Our position is that if the government has any evidence against him, bring him home and charge in a court and then proceed accordingly."
He has found his new home. An Iraqi prison cell awaiting the rope which he will hang. Terrorist... both him and the ACLU
Well, there you have it.
Well it could be as they say but the ACLU defending him does not look good at all. Iraqi's arrested them in Iraq. Maybe Iraq should investigate and trial them. JAT
If these malefactors are taken into custody in the sovereign nation of Iraq, it just seems appropriate that they be turned over to Iraqi authorities. Let the rat bastards of the ACLU deal with the provisional government instead of giving us headaches. BTW, for what innocent purpose does a film-maker need a bunch of timers?
They claim that the taxi driver was the bagman and that this guy was an unwitting passenger. A little separate room interrogation will clear this all up.
One was identified by his family and U.S. law enforcement officials as Cyrus Kar, an Iranian-American filmmaker and U.S. Navy veteran....the American Civil Liberties Union sued the government....
Whitman said the Iranian-American was arrested with several dozen washing machine timers in his car; such items can be used as components in bombs. Military officials said he was arrested with a cameraman and a taxi driver.
It has long been theorized that the media and the insurgency are united....even one. No longer just a tinfoil-hat theory according to the above.
He both creates and films the event.
Good thinking. I'm with you.
The enemy within.
HANG THEM
It is so clear that the left is not just liberal but is radical socialist and that it earnestly yearns for the downfall of America.
Keep hope alive.
Excellent site. I liked the 2 featured, both the hero and the traitor.
Speaking of heroes we need to restore the integrity of the bronze star. It should only be awarded for "V"...valor. They have the MSM for non-valorous awards in any zone.
The ACLU scum might need a dose of fragging.
You can always count on the ACLU to be there supporting the enemy. A heads up to anyone who doesn't know this yet:
1)you are judged by your appearance
2)You are judged by the freinds you keep
3)Therefore, if you look like scum and hang around scum, you probably are scum
4)There are exceptions to the rules, but not very many.
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