A retired naval commander and terrorism expert is appalled that the United States might have to release an al-Qaida operative who attacked American troops in Afghanistan in 2002.
A federal judge is giving the U.S. government until August 24 to report back to her on the status of a Guantanamo detainee whom she has ordered released. Judge Ellen Huvelle says she hopes by that time Mohammed Jawad is on his way home to Afghanistan. "Enough has been imposed on this young man" already, she says. The judge ruled last week that he has been held illegally and must be released. But the Justice Department is still considering whether to indict Jawad, who allegedly threw a grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers and their interpreter. He could be brought to the United States for a criminal trial. Kirk Lippold is the former commander of the USS Cole and senior military fellow at Military Families United. "The indications that we're getting right now are causing Military Families United great concern," he expresses. "...It appears that the Justice Department is leaning toward releasing this individual, this Mohammed Jawad, back to Afghanistan rather than holding him accountable for the grenade attack." Lippold hopes the president will not bend to political correctness. "If this president is unwilling to hold terrorists accountable for their actions, then what signal is he sending to American forces?" he asks. "Is he starting on a pattern of telling them 'it's too politically difficult for me to hold the terrorists accountable, [so] I will release them to their home country rather than deal with it?'" Lippold says that is absolutely the wrong approach to the detainee problem. He describes the administration's approach to handling Gitmo detainees as one built on a "dangerous pattern of piecemeal decisions" designed to repay campaign promises.
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