Iraq frees Daduq ... No trial obama goofed again!

Newsmax.com	9:31 AM (2 hours ago)
to me

1. Iraq Rebuffs Obama, Frees Accused Terrorist The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has ignored entreaties from the Obama administration and freed a top Hezbollah operative accused of murdering American soldiers. Vice President Joe Biden phoned Maliki on Nov. 13 and urged him to hold Ali Musa Daqduq accountable for his purported crimes; the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Robert Beecroft, made a similar appeal that day. But the Iraqis released Daqduq two days later, saying Iraq had run out of legal options to hold him, and he is now in Lebanon, according to The New York Times. American military prosecutors have accused Daqduq of murder and terrorism, among other crimes. They say he planned a January 2007 attack on the Karbala Joint Provincial Coordination Center, and advised the Shiite militant group that carried it out. The group killed one U.S. soldier in the ambush attack and abducted four others. Their bodies were later found in the militants’ abandoned vehicle, according to CNS News. They had been shot to death. Daqduq, a Lebanese national, was captured in March 2007 and held in American custody until December, when he was handed over to Iraqi authorities on the eve of the final U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. At the time, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the Iraqis had assured the United States that Daqduq would be tried for his crimes. But earlier last year, 20 Republican senators and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman had written to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, voicing concerns that Daqduq would eventually be released and return to terrorism. After his release, Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte said: “Many of us warned that the transfer of Daqduq to the Iraqis would result in his release. The administration ignored these warnings, and now a terrorist with American blood on his hands is walking free in Lebanon. There is little doubt that Daqduq is again collaborating with fellow members of Hezbollah in anticipation of their next terrorist attack.” And Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsay Graham said in a statement: “The United States now has so little influence that it could not prevail upon the Iraqi government to extradite Daqduq to the U.S. to stand trial for his crimes. “We now face a similar situation in Afghanistan as we did in Iraq as America draws down troops and hands over detainees to the Afghani government.” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: “We are going to continue to pursue all legal means to see that Daqduq sees justice for the crime of which he is accused.” She did not specify those means. But the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Daqduq, barring Americans from doing business with him and freezing any assets he might have in the United States.