Keeping track of former CIA detainees
On Sept. 6, 2006, President Bush announced the transfer of of 14 prisoners to Guantanamo who had been held for years in secret CIA custody. With today's announcement by Attorney General Eric Holder, we now know that seven of those will face trial: six in civilian court in New York (the five 9/11 plotters and Ghailani) and the seventh (alleged Cole plotter Nashiri) before a military commission, possibly in South Carolina.
That leaves seven for which no trial status has been determined, including Abu Zubaydah, the alleged al Qaida operative the CIA waterboarded 83 times and came to conclude maybe wasn't the big catch President Bush once called him. The others are:
-- Hambali, the Indonesian accused of being the link between Jemaah Islamiya and al Qaida who helped plan the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed 200 people. His real name is Riduan bin Isomuddin. He's been in custody since 2003.
-- Lillie, whose real name is Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep. A Malaysian, the Bush administration accused him of helping transfer al Qaida funds to help pay for the 2003 bombing of the Jakarta Marriott and of plotting with Hambali.
-- Zubair, whose real name is Mohd Farik bin Amin. Also Malaysian, he was captured with Hambali. The Bush administration said he'd been tapped by Hambali to be a suicide operative for an al Qaida attack that would have targeted Los Angeles.
-- Abu Faraj al Libi. Al Libi was alleged to have been the successor to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed after Mohammed was captured in Pakistan. He himself was captured in 2005.
-- Gouled Hassan Dourad. A Somali, the Bush administrastion described Dourad as the head of a Mogadishu-based network that provided assistance to al Qaida members in Somalia.
-- Majid Khan. A Pakistani national, Khan grew up outside Balitmore, Md., where he graduated from high school and his family operated a gas station. The Bush administration said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed asked him to research poisoning U.S. water supplies and had served as a conduit for money between al Qaida and Zubair to finance attacks on Western targets.
Why does the GOP Party of No and Fear, fear the terrorists being tried in open court in New York? I think they are greatly angered that this is something they did not do -- try the terrorists anywhere, especially the one they state mastermind this whole terriroist act! However, these terrorists are not military and should not be tried as such. The GOP remind me of bullies who pretend to be tough but are really afraid. May be Gound Zero can finally be healed and revived once these terrorists are tried and found guilty so close to where they did their dastardly deed. God knows these men should have been tried a long time ago. Thank God it is finally going to happen!
Posted by: Angellight | November 14, 2009 at 12:44 PM