Federal Judge Orders Release of Guantanamo Detainee
Congressional Desk
March 29, 2010
McKeon Claims Court Decision Is Result of the Lack of Clear and Coherent Terrorist Detention and Prosecution Policy within the Administration
Washington, D.C. — According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, a federal judge ordered the release of an al-Qaeda terrorist organizer from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Wall Street Journal reports that "Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Mr. Slahi's petition for habeas corpus, effectively finding that the government lacked legal grounds to hold him."
According to the article, "Mohamedou Ould Slahi was accused in the 9/11 Commission report of helping recruit Mohammed Atta and other members of the al Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, who took part in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S."
Thomas Joscelyn, writing in The Weekly Standard, provides a biographical sketch of Slahi and a summary of his terrorist activities. Per Joscelyn, "Among Slahi's most notorious recruits were four of the September 11 conspirators, all of whom were members of the infamous Hamburg cell."
House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) has repeatedly warned that—in the absence of a comprehensive terrorist detention and prosecution policy from the Obama Administration—civilian courts will step in and create policy through legal opinions.
In a statement on July 21, 2009, McKeon stressed that the "waiting game" was "unacceptable" to the "American people who continue to wonder if dangerous terrorists will be imported into their communities and unacceptable to the men and women of our military who are operating on battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq without clear guidance from the Commander-in-Chief on detainee matters."
In a letter to the President on November 18, 2009, McKeon encouraged: "What America deserves is a real strategy for fighting and winning the war on America´s terrorist enemies that includes an effective, credible, and consistent plan for all terrorist detainees."
Unsatisfied with the information he had received from the Administration on its terrorist detention and prosecution policies, McKeon introduced—and the Armed Services Committee rejected—a Resolution of Inquiry that would have forced the Department of Defense to provide all information that refers or relates to the trial or detention of the terrorists responsible for the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In his opening statement for the December 15, 2009, markup, McKeon stated: "The President still does not have a plan. The questions have only increased and the concerns continue to grow. Instead of providing a clear plan to the American people, we´ve seen piecemeal decisions, lacking coherence and explanation...That is why I urge all members of this committee to support my resolution of inquiry…Nine months after the President signed the Executive Order we have had no consultation, we still lack a policy, and we remain unable to get a straight story."
Washington, D.C. — According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, a federal judge ordered the release of an al-Qaeda terrorist organizer from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Wall Street Journal reports that "Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Mr. Slahi's petition for habeas corpus, effectively finding that the government lacked legal grounds to hold him."
According to the article, "Mohamedou Ould Slahi was accused in the 9/11 Commission report of helping recruit Mohammed Atta and other members of the al Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, who took part in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S."
Thomas Joscelyn, writing in The Weekly Standard, provides a biographical sketch of Slahi and a summary of his terrorist activities. Per Joscelyn, "Among Slahi's most notorious recruits were four of the September 11 conspirators, all of whom were members of the infamous Hamburg cell."
House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) has repeatedly warned that—in the absence of a comprehensive terrorist detention and prosecution policy from the Obama Administration—civilian courts will step in and create policy through legal opinions.
In a statement on July 21, 2009, McKeon stressed that the "waiting game" was "unacceptable" to the "American people who continue to wonder if dangerous terrorists will be imported into their communities and unacceptable to the men and women of our military who are operating on battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq without clear guidance from the Commander-in-Chief on detainee matters."
In a letter to the President on November 18, 2009, McKeon encouraged: "What America deserves is a real strategy for fighting and winning the war on America´s terrorist enemies that includes an effective, credible, and consistent plan for all terrorist detainees."
Unsatisfied with the information he had received from the Administration on its terrorist detention and prosecution policies, McKeon introduced—and the Armed Services Committee rejected—a Resolution of Inquiry that would have forced the Department of Defense to provide all information that refers or relates to the trial or detention of the terrorists responsible for the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In his opening statement for the December 15, 2009, markup, McKeon stated: "The President still does not have a plan. The questions have only increased and the concerns continue to grow. Instead of providing a clear plan to the American people, we´ve seen piecemeal decisions, lacking coherence and explanation...That is why I urge all members of this committee to support my resolution of inquiry…Nine months after the President signed the Executive Order we have had no consultation, we still lack a policy, and we remain unable to get a straight story."
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