Washington – As President Obama prepared to order the Department of Defense’s Military Commission to withdraw charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri on Friday afternoon, the convening authority for the Commission, Susan Crawford, withdrew the charges on her own tonight.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The charges were withdrawn without prejudice, meaning they later can be reinstated in a military commission or pursued in a civilian court. Al-Nashiri will remain in custody.
The original plan was for the announcement not to 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 Friday afternoon, where he will assure them that this step was not 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.
Al-Nashiri has been identified as the former Persian Gulf Operations Chief for al Qaeda and the mastermind of the attack on the U.S.S. Cole. In March 2007 he testified in military court that he only confessed to certain crimes because he has been tortured for the previous five years.
Asked for reaction to the news, Commander Kirk Lippold (Ret.), former Commander aboard the U.S.S. Cole when it was bombed on October 12, 2000, told ABC News that he was “concerned” about the move.
“For some reason the administration says what’s been expressed through the legislature is not sufficient,” Lippold said of the military commissions, which he said had “undergone extensive legal and legislative review…They need to allow the process to go forward.”
The 26-year Navy veteran said he found the decision to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay “disappointing,” but he seemed willing to hear the president out.
“I’m interested in hearing what his long-term plan is on how he’s going to deal with the detainees because he hasn’t articulated that,” he said. “He may have a clear-cut path that may massage some of the concerns that I know many of the families have right now.”
In a way, the President tied his administration’s own hands, requiring his Secretary of Defense to drop the charges. The executive order President Obama signed on closing the Guantanamo Detention Facilities states that “all proceedings” in the US Military Commissions must be “halted”:
“The Secretary of Defense shall immediately take steps sufficient to ensure that during the pendency of the Review described in section 4 of this order, no charges are sworn, or referred to a military commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Rules for Military Commissions, and that all proceedings of such military commissions to which charges have been referred but in which no judgment has been rendered, and all proceedings pending in the United States Court of Military Commission Review, are halted.”
Lippold, a Senior Military Fellow with Military Families United, served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and crafted detainee policy in the initial stages of what the Pentagon called the Global War on Terror. He was invited to meet with the President along with the other families tomorrow.
“I’m looking forward to hearing what the president has to say tomorrow when he meets with the families of the U.S.S. Cole,” Lippold said.
“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.
Message to President Obama: The courts already heard this argument and ruled in favor of what the previous adminsitration did.
We also have no idea what we are going to do with the Gitmo terrorists once BHO closes it down.
Thank you 52.7% for electing this fool.
Thank you Osama i mean obama one step closer for freedom for this murderer of us sailors
I guess Barak “INSAIN” Obama Is the REAL terrorists!!!! he is following what Osama Binlodin said will happen. he said “WE WILL DISTROY YOU FROM WITH IN”. and barak insain obama is he messenger!!!!
I Voted for President Obama and yet I served in the armed forces as a Marine during war time. My vote had nothing to do with the war, and yet this is insane. These criminals need to be put to justice just like the others that we are holding at Gitmo and it is going to be proven in history this is one of President Obamas biggest mistakes, closing this installation. For the first time I have ever voted in my life I am ashamed of what my Elected President though my vote has done (and I voted for Bush twice). What is next Castro going to be able to put nukes on his soil? Well at least I can say I will not be voting for him in 2012 especially since he is hiring Tax evaders and lobbyist to work in his “transparent” government, while I am struggling to find a job and most likely going to owe taxes because I needed to cash in my 401k to survive and I will find a way to pay my taxes and I am dead broke living off of unemployment insurance and getting ready to loose my house. Historical part out of the way…take two .
We really need more people to pay attention.
The charges were dropped without prejuidice. This means that they can be refiled at any time. This is explicitly stated in the article.
There has been considerable litigation over these courts; and there is a lot of reason to believe (especially given statements from military officers who have been involved with them) that as currently constituted they have serious issues.
If the case were allowed to proceed, jeopardy would attach. That would mean that if there was a fundamental issue with the prosecutions case, it would be entirely possible that no further charges could be placed.
In short, the Judge in this case determined that he would not grant the continuance that the prosecution requested. By dropping charges without prejuidice, they get the same result.
I am very afraid for this country. It appears to me that Obama’s true religion is being revealed. He is a muslim through and through. I feel so sorry for the families of the victims. They must be in so much pain. We should all protest by calling the whitehouse.
“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.” Considering that President Obama wasn’t elected by the detainees but by American citizens much more closely affected by the 9/11 WTC attack and USS Cole bombing, perhaps he should express concern for the constituency that he is supposed to be representing instead of the people who have sworn to kill us currently imprisoned in Guantanamo.
I guess Barrack Sadaam Hussien is showing his true colors. Why should any terrorist be afriad of the war on terror when the leader of the free world is a muslim and a terrorist sympathizer.
Hey you libs, are you still happy with this child? It will take years to undo the mess he is getting us into.
just put out the welcome mat for any lunatic that wants to blow up America. We are so deep in dog doo that there wont be anything left by the time our Pres. is voted out of office!!
Did anyone doubt that this Socialist fool will do what he is doing. Only stupid liberals may have been deceived. People, be ready for a rocky ride. Hopefully these liberal nut jobs will not do too much damage until we can change the Congress in 2010 and send Hussein Obama back in 2012 to do the only thing he knows how to do and that is be a street thug.
If he can free a terrorist then now would be a perfect time to flood him with FREE POLLARD since he is NOT a terrorist and he is in a freeing mood!!
This decision is completely meshugah. President Obama is clearly an appeaser of Muslim Terrorists. We as Yidden can already testify that “Peace in our time” style appeasement didn’t work with the Nazis YMSVZ, nor will it work with the Muslims. America must fight the Islamic Nazis hard or we will be hurt by them. They must be defeated on the battlefield. This is meshugah and I feel so badly for the families of the Cole sailors that were murdered and the people in the Military who worked so hard to put these animals in jail and bring evidence against them to stop them. May the Riboni Shel Olam protect us from the Muslim beasts and punish them for murdering the innocent and bringing pain to their families. Amen