Posted on 02/05/2009 3:24:14 PM PST by Smokeyblue
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 prosecution of al-Nashiri in a court system that his administration may ultimately find illegitimate, not for any other reason, sources told ABC News.
President Obama has expressed concern about whether the military commissions set up by the Bush administration are the proper way to go forward in pursuing charges against the U.S. detainees, and on January 22 he asked all the judges supervising the trials of detainees for a continuance of 120 days, so a team of administration officials could review the best way forward.
In almost the cases, that continuance request was granted. But last week the judge supervising the al-Nashiri trial -- Army Col. James L. Pohl, the chief judge at the Guantanamo Bay war crimes court -- said he would not heed President Obama's request for a 120-day continuance, or delay, in prosecutions of terrorism suspects. Pohl called the president's request "not reasonable" and not "in the interests of justice."
The arraignment of al-Nashiri is scheduled for Monday, February 9.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.abcnews.com ...
WHY did he wait until Eric Holder was confirmed and sworn in?????
Another thank you to Code Pink from 0.
Crap! Elections have thousands of consequences. How do conservatives like what they've seen from Obama these past three weeks?
Even that sorry-assed McCain wouldn't have done this.
Adding that this news makes me sick to my stomach in a big way.
They are already beginning to have buyer’s regret.
WHAT!!!??? 17 Americans murdered by this creep and the Obamoron is going to let him WALK!!!????
Don’t be surprised when Obamoron’s “kindness” is repaid with another major, devastating terrorist attack on this country by these Islamic murderers!! The Obamoron just gave them permission.
Ping!
My thought exactly.
Proof Obama isn’t smart at all. He’s as stupid as most liberals.
Things would be even worse if he gets his sorry butt asassinated. As horrible as it will be, we need him alive and well for the next four years so we can beat him royally in the next election.
Obama is freaking NUTS!
I guess ABC has had to let their editors go because of the recession.
....
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Just when you thought 0bama had hit rock bottom, he started to dig.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to (have their citizens suffer and) repeat it."
George Santayana
the mastermind of the USS Cole bombing and other terrorist attacks, who headed al-Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf states prior to his capture in November of 2002
Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Nashiri travelled to Afghanistan to participate in attacks against the Russians in the region. In 1996 he travelled to Tajikistan and then Jalalabad, where he first met Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden attempted to convince al-Nashiri to join al-Qaeda at this point, but he refused because he found the idea of swearing a loyalty oath to bin Laden to be distasteful. Still, after al-Nashiri travelled to Yemen, he began to consider committing terrorist actions against United States interests.
When he returned to Afghanistan in 1997, he again met bin Laden, but again declined to join in the terrorist group. Instead, he fought with the Taliban against the Afghan Northern Alliance. Still, he assisted in the smuggling of four anti-tank missiles into Saudi Arabia, and helped arrange for a terrorist to get a Yemeni passport. His cousin, Jihad Mohammad Ali al-Makki, was one of the suicide bombers in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya.
in 1998, al-Nashiri joined al-Qaeda, reporting directly to bin Laden. In late 1998, he conceived of a plot to attack a U.S. vessel using a boat full of explosives. Bin Laden personally approved of the plan, and provided money for it. First, al-Nashiri attempted to attack the USS The Sullivans as a part of the 2000 millennium attack plots, but the boat he used was overloaded with explosives and began to sink.
The next attempt, however, the USS Cole bombing, was successful. 17 U.S. sailors were killed, and many more were injured. This success brought him fame and respect within al-Qaeda, and al-Nashiri became the chief of operations for the Arabian Peninsula. He organized the Limburg tanker bombing in 2002, and he may have planned other attacks as well.
In November 2002, al-Nashiri was captured in the United Arab Emirates. He is currently in American military custody in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, having previously been held at some secret location. On September 29, 2004, he was sentenced to death in absentia in a Yemeni court for his role in the USS Cole bombing.
The Navy has provided these names of the killed in the attack on the USS Cole:
Chief Petty Officer Richard Costelow, Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
Signalman Seaman Recruit Cheron Luis Gunn, Rex, Georgia.
Seaman James Rodrick McDaniels, Norfolk, Virginia.
Seaman Recruit Lakiba Nicole Palmer, San Diego, California.
Operations Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Lamont Saunders, Ringgold, Virginia.
Ensign Andrew Triplett, Macon, Mississippi.
Seaman Apprentice Craig Bryan Wibberley, Williamsport, Maryland.
Hull Maintenance Technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Monique Francis, Woodleaf, North Carolina.
Information Systems Technician Seaman Timothy Lee Gauna, Rice, Texas
Engineman 2nd Class Mark Ian Nieto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Electronics Warfare Technician 3rd Class Ronald Scott Owens, Vero Beach, Florida.
Engineman Fireman Joshua Langdon Parlett, Churchville, Maryland.
Fireman Apprentice Patrick Howard Roy, Cornwall on Hudson, New York.
Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class Kevin Shawn Rux, Portland, North Dakota.
Mess Management Specialist 3rd Class Ronchester Mananga Santiago, Kingsville, Texas
Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., Rockport, Texas
His first phone call was not to any ally, not to the UN Secretary General, not to Putin... no, it was to Palestinian president Abbas. His first interview was not with CBC, NBC, ABC or CNN (and certainly not Fox), it was with Al Arabiya.
And here, once again, Obama is putting Arabs first.
Change. Believe it.
I have a new tagline.
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