Somali Citizen brought to New York to face Terrorism Charges

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Nov 19, 2010
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Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, Somali Citizen, Brought To New York To Face Terrorism Charges

al-shabaab.jpg


WASHINGTON -- A Somali citizen captured in April was interrogated aboard a U.S. warship for two months and is now in New York to face terrorism charges.

The case against Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame shows the Obama administration is sticking by its plan to use civilian courts to prosecute terrorists, a strategy that was successful for years under then President George W. Bush but which has drawn fire from Republicans since President Barack Obama took office.

The case also offers a glimpse at how the U.S. plans to interrogate detainees now that Obama has closed the CIA's network of secret prisons.

The military captured Warsame on April 19, and then put him aboard a Navy warship, where he was interrogated at sea by intelligence officials, senior administration officials said Tuesday. Under interrogation, Warsame gave up what officials called important intelligence about al-Qaida in Yemen and its relationship with al-Shabab militants in Somalia. The two groups have been known to have ties, but the extent of that relationship has remained unclear.

After the interrogation was complete, the FBI stepped in and began the interrogation from scratch, in a way that could be used in court. After the FBI read Warsame his Miranda rights – the right to remain silent and speak with an attorney – he opted to keep talking for days, helping the government build its case.

One of the unanswered questions of the Obama administration's counterterrorism strategy has been what it would do if it captured an important terrorist. Obama does not want to send more people to Guantanamo Bay and the CIA's so-called black sites" are closed.

The unusual case against Warsame was foreshadowed in congressional testimony late last month when Obama's pick to become commander of the Special Operations Command, Navy Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, told senators that the U.S. could hold suspected terrorists on naval ships until prosecutors file charges against them. McRaven didn't say exactly how long that detention could last.

The senior officials who spoke to reporters Tuesday said there are no other detainees in custody aboard ships. They all spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

The normally routine machinations of criminal prosecution have become political issues since Obama took office, promising to end harsh interrogation tactics and close Guantanamo Bay. Congress has blocked the administration from transferring any detainees out of Guantanamo Bay for trial in the U.S., and some in Congress are also questioning whether all new terrorism cases should be handled by military commissions. Most recently, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said two men arrested by the FBI on terrorism charges should be prosecuted at Guantanamo Bay.

That has rankled many at the Justice Department and FBI. Congress has designated the FBI as the nation's lead domestic counterterrorism agency, while questioning whether the FBI's reliance on Miranda warnings and adherence to U.S. civilian law makes them incapable of handling terrorism cases.

Warsame is not believed to be a senior member of either organization, but court documents unsealed Tuesday say he fought with and helped train al-Shabab in 2009, then helped support and train al-Qaida in Yemen until 2011. That makes him a potentially valuable intelligence asset, since he had unique access in both groups.

Senior administration officials said the intelligence interrogations were conducted by the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, a team of people from the military, intelligence agencies and Justice Department. Because those sessions were conducted before Warsame was read his rights, the intelligence can be used to underpin military strikes or CIA actions but are not admissible in court.

Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, Somali Citizen, Brought To New York To Face Terrorism Charges
 
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Mitch McConnell Criticizes Handling Of Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame

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WASHINGTON — The Senate Republican leader on Wednesday accused the Obama administration of undermining U.S. national security by bringing a Somali man facing terrorism charges to New York for trial.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Mitch McConnell assailed the administration's decision, arguing that the Somali citizen – Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame – belongs at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he could be tried by a military tribunal.

"The administration has purposefully imported a terrorist into the U.S. and is providing him all the rights of U.S. citizens in court," McConnell said. "This ideological rigidity being displayed by the administration is harming the national security of the United States of America."

Senior administration officials said Tuesday that the military captured Warsame on April 19, and then put him aboard a Navy warship, where he was interrogated at sea by intelligence officials. Under interrogation, Warsame gave up what officials called important intelligence about al-Qaida in Yemen and its relationship with al-Shabab militants in Somalia. The two groups have been known to have ties, but the extent of that relationship has remained unclear.

After the interrogation was complete, the FBI stepped in and began the interrogation from scratch, in a way that could be used in court. After the FBI read Warsame his Miranda rights – the right to remain silent and speak with an attorney – he opted to keep talking for days, helping the government build its case.

"Why? Why? Why is a man, who is a known terrorist and enemy of the United States, being afforded these protections?" McConnell, R-Ky., asked. "And now, he is in the hands of the civilian authorities and will be given all the rights accorded to a U.S. citizen in a civilian court."

A senior administration official defended the decision, saying the Defense Department and intelligence officials agreed with other members of the national security team that Warsame should be prosecuted in civilian courts. The official also said they interrogated him for two months to obtain as much information as possible and only when they finished, did they bring in the FBI, which read Warsame his Miranda rights. He waived those rights.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

President Barack Obama has said he would like to close the facility at Guantanamo, but Congress has repeatedly stopped the administration from transferring any detainees out of Guantanamo for trial in the U.S. Many in Congress want military commissions to handle the trials of terrorism cases.

McConnell's remarks drew an immediate rebuke from Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, who pointed out that under the administrations of Republican President George W. Bush and Obama more than 400 suspected terrorists have been tried in civilian courts in the United States and are serving time in U.S. prisons.

Mitch McConnell Criticizes Handling Of Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame
 
Al Shabaab Says It Will Destroy the US...
:eusa_eh:
Al Shabaab Say It Will Destroy the U.S. and UN
18 September 2011 — Somalia's al Qaeda inspired al Shabaab on Sunday unveiled that it is committed to destroying the United States and the United Nations.
Sheikh Fu'ad Mohamed Khalaf, a high ranking al Shabaab officer, said they will continue their battles against government of Somalia and then will tear down power of the United States and the UN since al Shabaab fighter is alive. He was speaking at a seminar held for some elders from Digil and Mirifle clans in Marka town, about 90 kilometers south of war-ridden Mogadishu.

Khalaf said their fighters are committed to dedicating their lives because of that cause. The comments of the al Shabaab officer comes a month after fleeing Mogadishu, the capital of the horn of African nation after four year insurgency to dethrone the internationally recognized Somalia government.

He called for the people in Somalia to join in al Shabaab's struggle against the Somali government and African Union forces in Mogadishu. He also talked about the famine and drought in the horn of African nation, spelling out that Al shabaab stood to help the famine victims. He called for the drought displaced people in Mogadishu to return to their regions and villages and resume their normal life.

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Al Shabaab Say It Will Destroy the U.S. and UN
 
Interesting enough..McConnell has no problem with him being held secretly on a ship and interrogated without a lawyer.

How American of him.
Clinton and the left treated terror as a criminal offense instead of an act of war and we got 911 !!
 
V-e-r-r-y inter'esting - but will he get his 72 virgins now?...
:eusa_drool:
Terror figure yields valuable intel
March 25th, 2013 - A former top leader of a Somali terror group, who also had ties to al Qaeda, secretly pleaded guilty in 2011 to federal charges and has provided the U.S. government with valuable intelligence information, the Justice Department said on Monday.
Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was a leader of al-Shabaab in Somalia and arranged a weapons deal at one time with Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, according to court documents. The U.S. military captured him at sea in April 2011 while he was traveling from Yemen to Somalia. He pleaded guilty in New York the following December to nine terrorism charges. Among other things, Warsame admitted to conspiring to provide material support to al-Shabaab and al Qaeda's operation in the Arabian Peninsula, conspiracy to teach others how to make bombs, and receiving miltary-type training from a terrorist organization. Warsame, now in his mid 20s, faces up to life in prison. A law enforcement official said he could get a lighter sentence if he "provides substantial assistance" to the United States. "The capture of Ahmed Warsame and his lengthy interrogation for intelligence purposes, followed by his thorough questioning by law enforcement agents, was an intelligence watershed," said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the United States "continues to make active use of the information" Warsame provided and his "cooperation has been and continues to be enormously valuable." The Justice Department would not disclose specifics about Warsame's cooperation.

Although his arrest was known, court proceedings and documents were under seal until Monday. John Carlin, acting assistant attorney general for national security, added that Warsame was a link between terror groups and was "an operational leader, commanding hundreds of fighters." Court papers showed that from 2007 until his capture, Warsame conspired with others, including some Americans, to provide material support to al-Shabaab and fought as a soldier for the group. Warsame also had an extensive relationship with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group allegedly behind the failed Christmas 2009 bombing attempt of a Delta Air Lines jet heading to Detroit. Court papers said Warsame brokered a weapons deal so that al-Shabaab could get arms directly from the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen. He also conspired to provide various forms of material support, including money, training, personnel and communications equipment, to that al Qaeda branch. Warsame also received training in how to use explosives and other weapons from al Qaeda in 2010 and 2011 and planned to train other al-Shabaab members once he returned to Somalia, documents showed.

The government gave its justification for keeping Warsame's guilty plea and cooperation secret in a March 2012 court filing. "At this stage, any public confirmation that the defendant has pleaded guilty, in a case which attracts media attention, is likely to be widely reported and, as a result, is likely to undermine the ability for the government to further investigate and prosecute associates of the defendant and to pose a threat to the safety of his family abroad," the document said. "Public confirmation that the defendant is cooperating on an ongoing basis could lead those associates to destroy evidence (including, for example, any e-mail messages or other communications) or to flee or otherwise change their patterns of behavior and communication," the document said. That document also said the government was interviewing him weekly in "regular, multi-hour proffer sessions." It said his co-conspirators include "high-level, international terrorist operatives." Lee Alan Ginsberg, a lawyer for Warsame, had no comment on the matter.

Terror figure yields valuable intel ? CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs
 

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