Doing work the Associated Press refused to do -- or more specifically, providing context the AP refused to provide -- Sweetness & Light's indefatigable blogger Steve Gilbert gave readers the back story behind the order by U.S. District Judge James Robertson (pictured at right) to release Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Salahi. Salahi is said to have, in the words of the wire service's Pete Yost, "provided advice to three of the Sept. 11 hijackers."
First, here's what little Yost deigned to divulge:
A judge has ordered the release of a Guantanamo Bay detainee described in the 9/11 commission report as a significant al-Qaida operative who provided advice to three of the Sept. 11 hijackers.
The ruling in favor of detainee Mohamedou Ould Salahi was disclosed Monday in a two-sentence court entry.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson will issue a written decision at a later date explaining his reasons for granting the detainee's petition. The detainee remains at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Obama administration could appeal Robertson's order. Even if the administration were to decide against appealing, Salahi would remain at Guantanamo until U.S. diplomats found a nation willing to accept him.
The 9/11 Commission report says Salahi was known to U.S. and German intelligence a decade ago and living in Germany when he gave instructions to four men about how to reach Afghanistan to train for jihad.
Three of the men later became Sept. 11 hijackers — Mohamed Atta, Ziad Jarrah and Marwan al Shehhi.
Yost wastes his final three paragraphs with smell test-failing verbiage about former military prosecutor Lt. Col. Stuart Couch, who has said that he refused to press charges against Salahi because he had been subjected to "torture."
In 205 words, followed by a blistering final dozen, Gilbert succinctly states what Yost failed to reveal when given a total of over 400 to work with (links are in original):
For instance, Judge Robertson threw out Ken Starr’s charges against the Clintons’ bag man and fall guy, Web Hubbell. And he has protected many other Clinton cronies over the years.
More recently, Mr. Robertson blocked the release of First Lady Hillary Clinton’s phone records from FOIA requests.
More to the point, however, Mr. Robertson is also the same heroic judge who resigned from the FISA court in a self-righteous hissy fit protest.
He also summarily released 30 other terrorists detainees last November.
More importantly perhaps, Judge Robertson is the also same legal hero who begat the Hamdan ruling, when he demanded that foreign combats should receive habeas corpus rights.
But why should the AP bother its readers with such meaningless details?
Gilbert also has posts on the Communist Party USA's various pronouncements praising the passage of ObamaCare ("a giant first step") and concomitant government takeover of the entire student loan industry. You can rest assured that the AP won't take any interest in these "endorsements."
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
