Saudi Arabian national of Yemeni, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is facing eight charges including murder and terrorism for the attack on the USS Cole warship that left 17 sailors dead. Prosecutors have also charged him with a failed attack on another U.S. warship, the USS The Sullivans in Aden in Jan, 2000, and an attack on the SS Limburg, a French supertanker in the Gulf of Aden in October, 2002. And with his capture, yet again, the same issues arise.
While Al-Nashiri is one of 14 “high value” detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, the ACLU and other rights groups are all over this case, looking to protect the alleged al Qaeda terrorist.
Forcefully slamming a small boat filled with explosives into the side of the warship, a 40-foot hole was ripped in the hull. And prosecutors allege that al-Nashiri was the main guy responsible for giving orders to carry out the attack.
However, according to al-Nashiri, upon his capture in 2002, he was tortured and that is why he confessed. When asked about this, the CIA does admit to using “waterboarding,” which is a form of simulated drowning and was banned in 2006. Human rights activists call this “torture,” as well.
As for me, I find it ironic that terrorists accuse the U.S. of torture when torturing their captives, along with blowing up innocent people is what they do best.
Responding to the rights activists standing behind al-Nashiri, Gen. Thomas Hartmann, legal advisor to the body that oversees the military commissions system said, “all of the evidentiary issues are going to be resolved in the courtroom. That is the beauty of the system.
“We’ll leave that to the trial process.”
Rights groups, however, still aren’t satisfied. They feel that the military commissions system does not give detainees a fair trial.
Tell that to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11!
According to U.S. officials, al-Nashiri was al Qaeda’s chief in the Arabian peninsula and has met with Islamist militant network’s chief, Osama bin Laden, several times.
Great!
While I’m big on treating individuals fairly, when it comes to al-Nashiri and other terrorists, maybe I’m just a mad American that has had enough but… I say, feed them to the lions.
Popularity: 8% [?]
