Kangaroo Court: Obama Defies Congress, Endangers U.S. by Bringing bin Laden Son-in-La

[Wehrwolfen]

By Joel B. Pollak
3/7/13


He is an unlawful enemy combatant, captured on foreign soil while engaged in hostilities against the United States. He belongs in the military justice system and detention facility established by Congress in accordance with the Constitution and the Supreme Court. Yet President Barack Obama has brought Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, to face a civilian trial on U.S. soil in federal court in New York City.

In so doing, President Obama has defied the express will of Congress, which already refused to transfer foreign terror suspects from the Guantánamo Bay prison to the U.S. at the beginning of Obama’s first term. The decision to bring Ghaith to New York is just the latest in a series of executive actions taken by President Obama that contradict the explicit intent of the legislature. It is also an action in pursuit of a policy doomed to fail.

The extreme left has continued to resist the idea of separate military and civilian justice systems in the war on terror (a term the Obama administration long since abandoned). The Obama administration’s embrace of that view led it to propose that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 plot, be tried in New York City in 2009.

That plan was scrapped, but Obama remained so committed to that radical view that his administration chose to accelerate the targeted killing of terrorists abroad rather than detaining, interrogating, and trying them in the manner established during the George W. Bush administration. Now, emboldened by his re-election, President Obama seeks to use the Abu Ghaith trial to establish a new precedent for future administrations--without regard to the consequences, both for our national security and our system of justice.


(Excerpt)

Read more:
Obama Brings bin Laden Son-in-Law to New York for Trial

 

[Quantum Windbag]

He was arrested in Turkey, and taken into US custody in Jordan.

 

[Wehrwolfen]

Hmm.., Turkey, then Jordan -- Rendition comes to mind... I wonder how long it will take to try this guy in a Federal Court rather than a Military Tribunal.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - waterboard him till he spills the beans...

Arrest of Bin Laden’s Son-in-Law Could Shed More Light on Iran’s Collaboration With al-Qaeda
March 8, 2013 – The capture of the Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, who served as his spokesman, may in time provide fresh insight into allegations of Iranian collaboration with al-Qaeda over the years since 9/11.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, an Islamic preacher of Kuwaiti origin, is due to be arraigned in a New York court on Friday. The indictment charges him with participating in a conspiracy to kill United States nationals, an offense carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Announcing his indictment on Thursday, federal law enforcement officials gave no information about how Abu Ghaith came to be in U.S. custody, but unsealed court papers did state that, in 2002, he had been “smuggled successfully from Afghanistan into Iran.”

The documents were silent on his whereabouts since, but Turkey’s Today’s Zaman newspaper reported Thursday that Abu Ghaith had entered Turkey from Iran illegally early last month. It said Turkish authorities held him for having used a false passport and a court ordered his deportation. He could not be deported to Kuwait – which stripped him of his citizenship after 9/11 – and Turkey would not transfer him to the U.S. because of the death penalty. Turkey had instead deported him to Jordan, the paper said.

According to Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) Abu Ghaith was taken into custody in Jordan. In a statement welcoming his arrest, King commended the CIA, FBI, President Obama and “our allies in Jordan” for his capture, adding, “I trust he received a vigorous interrogation and will face swift and certain justice.” If Abu Ghaith turns out to have been in Iran for all or much of the period since he was “smuggled” in from Afghanistan in 2012, his trial could offer new information into Tehran’s collaboration with al-Qaeda.

Some have dismissed the notion of such a partnership because of the sectarian differences between the Sunni terrorist group and the Shi’ite regime in Tehran, but in March 2010 then-U.S. Central Command head Gen. David Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee that “al-Qaeda continues to use Iran as a key facilitation hub, where facilitators connect al-Qaeda’s senior leadership to regional affiliates.” “And although Iranian authorities do periodically disrupt this network by detaining select al-Qaeda facilitators and operational planners, Tehran’s policy in this regard is often unpredictable,” Petraeus told the panel.

MORE

 

[The Rabbi]

What happens when he gets acquitted on a technicality? The administration's record here is not very good. How about he sues the US for wrongful detainment and a violation of his civil rights.
This administration is the most clueless in history.

 

[Dubya]

By Joel B. Pollak
3/7/13


He is an unlawful enemy combatant, captured on foreign soil while engaged in hostilities against the United States. He belongs in the military justice system and detention facility established by Congress in accordance with the Constitution and the Supreme Court. Yet President Barack Obama has brought Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, to face a civilian trial on U.S. soil in federal court in New York City.

In so doing, President Obama has defied the express will of Congress, which already refused to transfer foreign terror suspects from the Guantánamo Bay prison to the U.S. at the beginning of Obama’s first term. The decision to bring Ghaith to New York is just the latest in a series of executive actions taken by President Obama that contradict the explicit intent of the legislature. It is also an action in pursuit of a policy doomed to fail.

The extreme left has continued to resist the idea of separate military and civilian justice systems in the war on terror (a term the Obama administration long since abandoned). The Obama administration’s embrace of that view led it to propose that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 plot, be tried in New York City in 2009.

That plan was scrapped, but Obama remained so committed to that radical view that his administration chose to accelerate the targeted killing of terrorists abroad rather than detaining, interrogating, and trying them in the manner established during the George W. Bush administration. Now, emboldened by his re-election, President Obama seeks to use the Abu Ghaith trial to establish a new precedent for future administrations--without regard to the consequences, both for our national security and our system of justice.


(Excerpt)

Read more:
Obama Brings bin Laden Son-in-Law to New York for Trial

Explain how Congress has the constitutional authority in this matter to dictate how an enemy combatant must be tried in court! Isn't it a fact that this case involves crimes against the civilian population inside America. Were there not American citizens and foreign citizens killed in New York City by the actions of Abu Ghaith and his father-in-law Bin Laden? I don't believe such crimes fall under the category of activities during war, where a military trial is the best choice. Why wouldn't the authority of how such people should be tried fall with the Commander-in-Chief and not the legislature of this country? What do you think gives the Congress the constitutional authority to dictate to the President how someone like Abu Ghaith must be tried in court? Why wouldn't that decision be determined by the Department of Justice and the head of our military?

 

[JoeB131]

Hmm.., Turkey, then Jordan -- Rendition comes to mind... I wonder how long it will take to try this guy in a Federal Court rather than a Military Tribunal.

Given what a poor record we have with military tribunals, (Only three convictions in a decade, two of whom have already been released), I'm not seeing the point.

Fact is, Tribunals would be seen as illegitimate in most of the world.

 

[tyroneweaver]

ya obama is going to give his moslem buddies all the goodies under miranda but in that dark soul of his he wants to send a drone through your window.

 

[J.E.D]

Hmm.., Turkey, then Jordan -- Rendition comes to mind... I wonder how long it will take to try this guy in a Federal Court rather than a Military Tribunal.

Given what a poor record we have with military tribunals, (Only three convictions in a decade, two of whom have already been released), I'm not seeing the point.

Fact is, Tribunals would be seen as illegitimate in most of the world.

Yep. You took the words right out of my mouth. If Werewolf and the Echo Chamber could stop hating Obama for two minutes, they'd see that civilian courts have a much better track record for convictions. Hands down.

But political hacks are going to be political hacks. Whatchagonnado?

 

[Goodoledays]

What happens when he gets acquitted on a technicality? The administration's record here is not very good. How about he sues the US for wrongful detainment and a violation of his civil rights.
This administration is the most clueless in history.

Im sure thats what Ubama really wants. He just loves foreigners.