9.27.2004
Bush Now 0 for 5,000,000 on Convicting "Terrorists"
The "War on Terror" continues today as the government was forced to release yet another "enemy combatant" from permanent containment:
A U.S. citizen captured in Afghanistan and held without charges since late 2001 as an enemy combatant is scheduled to be released Tuesday and flown to Saudi Arabia, where he grew up, his lawyer said.
Yaser Esam Hamdi, whose case led to a Supreme Court decision limiting the president's powers to indefinitely hold wartime combatants, will not be charged with any crime under an agreement with federal officials made public Monday.
The agreement requires Hamdi to give up his American citizenship, renounce terrorism and not sue the U.S. government over his captivity. Justice Department officials declined to comment beyond the agreement.
"I believe he's just hours away from being put on a plane and being sent home," said his attorney, Frank Dunham Jr. "The ball goes through the hoop when the ball goes through the hoop."
...Hamdi, who was born in Louisiana in 1980 to Saudi parents, was captured on a battlefield in Afghanistan in late 2001 during the fight against the Taliban regime.
He contends he never fought against the United States and that he had been trying to get out of Afghanistan when he was captured.
Under the four-page agreement filed late Friday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Hamdi agreed to notify Saudi officials if he becomes aware of "any planned or executed acts of terrorism."
In return, the Justice Department agreed not to ask the Saudi government to detain Hamdi any further. Officials have said Hamdi no longer posed a threat to the United States and no longer has intelligence value.
Hamdi agreed to live in Saudi Arabia for five years and not travel outside that country during that time. For 15 years, he must alert the U.S. embassy before traveling outside Saudi Arabia, and he must never travel to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan or Syria.
Hamdi also agreed not to travel to the United States for 10 years. After that, he must get permission from the U.S. secretaries for defense and homeland security.
...The Supreme Court ruled in June that Hamdi and others like him could not be held indefinitely without seeing a lawyer and getting a chance to contest their incarceration in court. That led to the negotiations for Hamdi's release.
Whew, glad we're keeping him out of our country. Sounds like he was another jihad just waiting to happen. Of course, let me remind everyone that since the conflict in Iraq has begun, we have yet to convict a single individual of Terrorism. In fact, we've had several soldiers accused of various crimes, not to mention the prisoner abuse cases. Indeed, it seems this "War on Terror" is another losing war, just like Iraq, that seems headed down the wrong path.
A U.S. citizen captured in Afghanistan and held without charges since late 2001 as an enemy combatant is scheduled to be released Tuesday and flown to Saudi Arabia, where he grew up, his lawyer said.
Yaser Esam Hamdi, whose case led to a Supreme Court decision limiting the president's powers to indefinitely hold wartime combatants, will not be charged with any crime under an agreement with federal officials made public Monday.
The agreement requires Hamdi to give up his American citizenship, renounce terrorism and not sue the U.S. government over his captivity. Justice Department officials declined to comment beyond the agreement.
"I believe he's just hours away from being put on a plane and being sent home," said his attorney, Frank Dunham Jr. "The ball goes through the hoop when the ball goes through the hoop."
...Hamdi, who was born in Louisiana in 1980 to Saudi parents, was captured on a battlefield in Afghanistan in late 2001 during the fight against the Taliban regime.
He contends he never fought against the United States and that he had been trying to get out of Afghanistan when he was captured.
Under the four-page agreement filed late Friday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Hamdi agreed to notify Saudi officials if he becomes aware of "any planned or executed acts of terrorism."
In return, the Justice Department agreed not to ask the Saudi government to detain Hamdi any further. Officials have said Hamdi no longer posed a threat to the United States and no longer has intelligence value.
Hamdi agreed to live in Saudi Arabia for five years and not travel outside that country during that time. For 15 years, he must alert the U.S. embassy before traveling outside Saudi Arabia, and he must never travel to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan or Syria.
Hamdi also agreed not to travel to the United States for 10 years. After that, he must get permission from the U.S. secretaries for defense and homeland security.
...The Supreme Court ruled in June that Hamdi and others like him could not be held indefinitely without seeing a lawyer and getting a chance to contest their incarceration in court. That led to the negotiations for Hamdi's release.
Whew, glad we're keeping him out of our country. Sounds like he was another jihad just waiting to happen. Of course, let me remind everyone that since the conflict in Iraq has begun, we have yet to convict a single individual of Terrorism. In fact, we've had several soldiers accused of various crimes, not to mention the prisoner abuse cases. Indeed, it seems this "War on Terror" is another losing war, just like Iraq, that seems headed down the wrong path.
