U.S. drops charges against '20th hijacker'

[RamboLiberal]

Source: USA Today

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi at Guantanamo who was alleged to have been the so-called "20th hijacker" in the Sept. 11 attacks, his U.S. military defense lawyer said Monday.

Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men charged by the military in February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 2001 attacks. Authorities say al-Qahtani missed out on taking part in the attacks because he was denied entry to the U.S. by an immigration agent.

But in reviewing the case, the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford, decided to dismiss the charges against al-Qahtani and proceed with the arraignment for the other five, said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, the Saudi's military lawyer.

Crawford dismissed the charges Friday without prejudice, meaning they can be filed again later, but the defense only learned about it Monday, Broyles told The Associated Press.

The attorney said he could not comment on the reasons for the dismissal until discussing the case with lawyers for the other five defendants. Officials previously said al-Qahtani had been subjected to a harsh interrogation authorized by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-05-12-20-hijacker-911-_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

[shraby]

1. How many "20th hijackers" do they have?

[RamboLiberal]

2. Probably as many 2nd and 3rds in command in Al Qaeda n/t

:rofl:

[Up2Late]

3. I guess the Water-boarding didn't work, huh?

Go figure.:silly: :dunce: :hurts: :nopity:

[lostnfound]

5. I guess it did work.

He's probably now in such a disordered, broken condition that he no longer represents a danger of spilling the beans. No chance of him telling anyone who funded it, for example, or how they all got the training arranged.

[truth2power]

6. I notice that more and more people are willing to speak the unspeakable...

these days.

Can you say "false flag"? I knew you could.

[zehnkatzen]

4. Now, if they'll only drop charges against the fifth Beatle we can all close up and go home. k/r, n/t

[zanne]

7. There's no mention of whether or not he'll have to stay at Guantanamo. nt

[Supersedeas]

25. endless detention and immunity for those who tortured

[saigon68]

8. And the Thugs that the Chimp appointed to the SC

Will have to decide if the "confessions" elicited by Torture, are OK for the death penalty





Officials previously said al-Qahtani had been subjected to a harsh interrogation authorized by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

[tctctctc]

24. Grrrr, Pelosi. We could have gotten rid of all of them

[Stuart G]

9. These people corrupt everything they toch..

Who knows what the hell Rumsfeld and Bush have done with their torture? We sure don't, and we may never know.

[Stuart G]

10. I wonder if and how the mainstream media will report this? n/t

[stillcool]

11. They just have reported it....

the AP that is. There is no way Pat Buchanan and his ilk on the cable talk shows will go anywhere near this story. It has no place in the collective reality they seek to create.

[ohio2007]

23. Can't wait for the truther spin

..donning my truther flame suit in 3...2...1...

;)

[BulletproofLandshark]

12. But, but I thought Moussaoui was the 20th hijacker.

:eyes:

[formercia]

16. He was the primary 20th. hijacker

this guy was the alternate.

[damntexdem]

17. The real problem: the Bushistas can only count up to 20 ...

even with their shoes and socks off.

;-)

[Usrename]

20. I think one of them fools was caught and arrested...

trying to count to 21

:)

(indecent exposure)

[formercia]

13. But, but, he confessed under torture!!1!1!!

What a fucked-up world these crazies have created.

[bluesmail]

14. they seem to be dropping charges like hot potatoes

just in case McCain doesn't make it to the WH.

[DinahMoeHum]

15. Honest to G*d, this Bush-league mis-administration could screw up

a wet dream.

And our fellow Americans are afraid of these assholes???

:evilfrown:

[mogster]

18. More about this, from 2006:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15361462/

Can the ‘20th hijacker’ of Sept. 11 stand trial?
Aggressive interrogation at Guantanamo may prevent his prosecution.
(...)
And they described their disappointment when military prosecutors told them not to worry about making a criminal case against al-Qahtani, the suspected "20th hijacker" of Sept. 11, because what had been done to him would prevent him from ever being put on trial.

The wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_al-Kahtani

[Parche]

19. Wasnt Moosowi The 20th Hijacker?

Number 2, or 20?

What are numbers, when the CIA can mass produce Al-Lie das...................:woohoo: :
:hi:

[Omaha Steve]

21. U.S. drops charges against accused '20th hijacker'

Source: Reuters

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Tuesday it dropped charges against a Saudi who U.S. officials say intended to be the "20th hijacker" on Sept. 11 but sent five others to trial on accusations they planned the 2001 attacks.

A Pentagon appointee who oversees the U.S. war court at its Guantanamo Bay military prison did not say why she rejected the charges that prosecutors sought earlier this year against Mohammed al-Qahtani.

She dismissed the charges "without prejudice," a distinction that allows the U.S. government to try to bring charges against Qahtani again.

Murder and conspiracy charges against the five other men accused of planning the attacks, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were approved, the Pentagon said. That means the men, all held at Guantanamo, must be arraigned within 30 days.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKN1342978520080513

[ohio2007]

22. 'Al-Qaeda video' of 20th hijacker ( 21 June 2006 article )

'Al-Qaeda video' of 20th hijacker
Last Updated: Wednesday, 21 June 2006, 12:08 GMT 13:08 UK

A video said to be from al-Qaeda shows the man it says was the planned "20th hijacker" for the 9/11 US attacks.
The video, released by a US intelligence organisation, is of Saudi man, Fawaz al-Nashimi, who was killed in a shootout in Saudi Arabia in 2004.

The US has not commented and the video claim cannot be independently verified.

The identity of a 20th hijacker has been the subject of great debate, although there is no concrete evidence one was part of the plans for 9/11.

Three of the four hijacked planes on 9/11 had five al-Qaeda men on board, but the plane that crashed into a Pennsylvania field - UA 93 - had only four.

The CIA had initially suspected jailed al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui as the 20th hijacker, but later revised its opinion.


snip

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5101954.stm

Somebody overslept on 9/11. Maybe they had a hangover and slept it off that morning.


of course, "the truthers" would never see that as a possibility ;)


Flight UA 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field