It is really hard to understand how Obama is rationalizing this treatment. We know the devastation wrought by Clinton having treated terrorists as common criminals instead of warriors -- the policy was directly responsible for 9/11.
Yet, Obama somehow sees his way clear to go back to this process.
How many 9/11s do we need for our politicians to learn?
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With indictment unsealed, al Qaeda suspect moves into civilian court system
By DEVLIN BARRETT
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities unsealed an indictment Friday against Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda sleeper agent, moving him into the civilian court system as the Obama administration considers a new strategy for handling terrorism suspects.
The administration also asked the Supreme Court to dismiss al-Marri’s pending legal challenge to the president’s authority to arrest terrorism suspects in the U.S. and hold them indefinitely without charges. The administration refused to rule out similar detentions in the future. "Nor can there be any certainty as to whether, or in what circumstances" the issue will arise again, acting Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler told the court.
Al-Marri was arrested in Peoria, Ill., where he had just moved to attend graduate school. He has been held in a Navy brig outside Charleston, S.C., for more than five years, since President George W. Bush declared him an enemy combatant.
He will now be transferred to Peoria to face trial in a civilian court on a charge of providing material support to al Qaeda and a related conspiracy count. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years each.
His lawyer Jonathan Hafetz called the indictment "an important step toward restoring the rule of law" and said he was glad his client’s guilt or innocence will now be decided in a courtroom.
For a case that has taken years to develop, the indictment itself is surprisingly brief, barely two pages, offering none of the specifics often contained in such papers to back up criminal charges.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said prosecutors "will introduce our evidence at trial and intend to prove our case there."
With al-Marri’s indictment, President Barack Obama ordered the military to turn al-Marri over to the Justice Department, when requested by Attorney General Eric Holder. It was not immediately clear when that will happen, but officials said it won’t be until the Supreme Court rules on the government motion to dismiss al-Marri’s challenge. |
