Bin Laden's Driver Gets 5½ Years

Prosecutors Sought 30 Years For Salim Hamdan, Who Is Now Eligible For Release In 5 Months

(CBS/ AP)  A U.S. military jury gave Osama bin Laden's driver a surprisingly light sentence on Thursday, making him eligible for release in just five months despite the prosecutors' request for at least a 30-year sentence to deter would-be terrorists.

Salim Hamdan's sentence of 5½ years, including five years and a month already served at Guantanamo Bay, fell far short of the life sentence he could have gotten for aiding terrorism by driving and guarding bin Laden. It now goes for mandatory review to a Pentagon official who can shorten the sentence but not extend it.

It remains unclear what will happen to Hamdan once his sentence is served, since the U.S. military has said it won't release anyone who still represents a threat. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said Hamdan, who is from Yemen, would likely be eligible for the same administrative review process as other Guantanamo prisoners.

Defense lawyers said they expect Hamdan will be let go in five months. "It was all for show if Mr. Hamdan does not go home in December," said Charles Swift, one of Hamdan's civilian attorneys.

Neal Katyal, one of Hamdan's other attorneys, called it a bad day for the Bush adminstration.

"It does I think demonstrate the fundamental overblown nature of what the Bush administration has claimed about people at Guantanamo," Katyal told CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews.

The Pentagon, however, said it still can detain Hamdan indefinitely if he is deemed to be a threat, reports Andrews.

Hamdan thanked the jurors for the sentence and repeated his apology for having served bin Laden.

"I would like to apologize one more time to all the members and I would like to thank you for what you have done for me," Hamdan told the five-man, one-woman jury, all military officers hand-picked by the Pentagon for the first U.S. war crimes trial in a half-century.

“The lenient sentencing will not change some legal critics' view that the tribunal process is flawed, but it does mean that the jury was able to differentiate a driver from a commander in the war on terror and a small fish from the big one,” said CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk, “and it does indicate that the trials will start continue at a much faster pace now.”

Hamdan was found guilty of supporting terrorism by serving as bin Laden's armed bodyguard and driver while knowing the al Qaeda leader was plotting U.S. attacks. But he was found not guilty of providing missiles to al Qaeda and knowing his work would be used for terrorism. He also was cleared of being part of al Qaeda's conspiracy to attack the United States - the most serious charges he faced.

The military has not said where Hamdan will serve his sentence, but the commander of the detention center, Navy Rear Adm. David Thomas, said last week that convicted prisoners will be held apart from the general detainee population at the isolated U.S. military base in southeast Cuba.

"I hope the day comes that you return to your wife and daughters and your country, and you're able to be a provider, a father and a husband in the best sense of all those terms," the judge told Hamdan.

Hamdan, dressed in a charcoal sports coat and white robe, responded: "God willing."

Military prosecutors had said even a life sentence would be fitting in order to send an example to would-be terrorists.

But the jury, which acquitted Hamdan of the most serious charges, apparently agreed with the judge, who called him only a "small player" in al Qaeda.

"The decision showed what the jury thought Hamdan was worth," Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo trials, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Referring to the decks of cards the U.S. military has distributed with images of most-wanted terrorists, Davis said: "Hamdan would be the two of clubs."

Still, the sentence should give skeptics some pause, Davis said, by showing that military juries are independent and carefully evaluate evidence presented in the war crimes trials.

"There is a perception that trying people in front of the military was going to be a rubber-stamp process," Davis said. "This shows they are conscientious, following instructions and are making rational decisions."

The chief defense counsel for the Guantanamo tribunals, Army Col. Steve David, said the government failed in its strategy to link Hamdan to the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The government attempted to inflame the emotions of the panel," he said. "It didn't work."

Hamdan admitted he drove bin Laden around Afghanistan at the time of the 2001 attacks, but said he took the job without knowing the al Qaeda leader was a terrorist. It came as "a big shock," he said, when he learned bin Laden was responsible for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, where Hamdan is from.

Still, he kept the job, Hamdan said - he needed the money, and couldn't go home.

"It's true there are work opportunities in Yemen, but not at the level I needed after I got married and not to the level of ambitions that I had in my future," said Hamdan, who has a fourth-grade education.

Reading a prepared statement in Arabic, he said he had a "relationship of respect" with bin Laden, as would any other driver in the al Qaeda motor pool. Hamdan has said he drove mainly low-profile pickup trucks with tinted windows because his boss shunned the Toyota Land Cruisers favored by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.

Hamdan expressed regret over the "innocent people" who died in the attacks in the United States, according to a Pentagon transcript. His apology couldn't be heard by reporters because the sound was turned off during part of the proceedings to protect classified information.

"I personally present my apologies to them if anything that I did has caused them pain," Hamdan said.

Prosecutor John Murphy had pressed for a sentence stiff enough to dissuade potential terrorists from joining the fight.

"You have found him guilty of offenses that have made our world extremely unsafe and dangerous," Murphy said. "The government asks you to deliver a sentence that will absolutely keep our society safe from him."

The judge instructed jurors to consider the nearly seven years Hamdan has spent in confinement, and that he is the sole supporter of his wife and two children.

The guilty verdict will be appealed automatically to a special military court in Washington. Hamdan also can appeal to U.S. civilian courts, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. Defense lawyers say Hamdan's rights were denied by an unfair process, hastily patched together after the court ruled that previous tribunal systems violated U.S. and international law.

"The problem is the law was specifically written after the fact to target Mr. Hamdan," said Swift.

Deputy White House spokesman Tony Fratto on Wednesday disputed allegations of injustice, saying Hamdan had received a fair trial and that prosecutors will now press ahead with other war crimes trials. Prosecutors intend to try about 80 Guantanamo detainees, including 19 already charged.

"Although Hamdan's trial will be seen as a landmark case in the tribunals," said Falk, "the next trial, that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad - called the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks - will be the real bellwether, because it is a case that will raise the issue of harsh interrogations and because it is a death penalty case."

[beboldin09]

dafras, get your islamic propaganda off of American forums. The TRUTH about what''s REALLY happening in the Middle East is that these so-called "Palestinian" Muslim Arabs are teaching their young to become suicide bombers for "allah" and to kill Jews wherever they find them, via the Quran and the Hadith, which specifically instruct this. It is OBVIOUS that you are a Muslim propagandist flooding these forums because you have copied and pasted the same lie below on more than one forum on this website.

Whatever your imam is paying you, give it up, it''s not worth it buddy. You''re not going to get 72 virgins and you''re not going to get paradise with the path you are on right now. It''s that simple. You have been deceived by a wicked ideology called islam and if you don''t snap out of it, all will be lost.

In our country, the USA, we are free to do RESEARCH on your intentions and your religion and agenda WITHOUT PERSECUTION (unlike your countries like Saudi Arabia where you arrest people simply for being a Christian and will not let a Jew in the country).

Know that your filthy propaganda fools nobody. And we will fight your propaganda tooth and nail here in America, you can COUNT on it.

[bm6005]

This makes as much sense as trying Eisenhower''s driver during WWII. This is the best our lame gov''t can come up with for a terrorist trial? I want to see OBL and Zawahari''s heads mounted on the White House fence not the prosecution of a frickin'' driver!!

[whiskyrokkr]

He should have been executed already. 30 years are you kidding me? He''ll do 5 then be found living in New York somewhere.

[scottyusa]

BeBoldin09 I could not have said it better. Nice job.

[bretster7]

BeBoldin09 said,
You''''re not going to get 72 virgins and you''''re not going to get paradise with the path you are on right now


Actually they have found that it is a mis-translation of the Koran. It is that they will get a "72 year old virgin" not 72 virgins.

[cfin5]

Dude looks like Richard Pryor. Doesn''t that thought add a new angle to terrorist behavior behind the wheel?

[stevenga777]

This is sort of like saying....We can''t find Hitler, but we got Hitler''s driver. STUPID IS AS DUBYA DOES.

[usclimey]

Maybe the guy did get a fair trial after all. One finding of innocence and a 6 month jail sentence. How much did it cost the tax payer to give shrub this victory?

[mbcsmith]

This is sort of like saying....We can''''t find Hitler, but we got Hitler''''s driver. STUPID IS AS DUBYA DOES.


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Posted by stevenga777 at 04:17 PM : Aug 07, 2008
+ report abuse


Leave it to a LIB to criticize the capture of a terrorist.

[omded]

I hope President Bush won''t commute this guy''s sentence like he did Scooter Libby''s!

[wellhell3]

This makes as much sense as trying Eisenhower''''s driver during WWII. This is the best our lame gov''''t can come up with for a terrorist trial? I want to see OBL and Zawahari''''s heads mounted on the White House fence not the prosecution of a frickin'''' driver!!


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Posted by bm6005 at 02:18 PM : Aug 07, 2008

I think this was more or less a test trial...or let''s try this kind easy one and see what kind of messes we get into before we take on the really bad dudes.

I too am disappointed in the outcome. Frankly I think we needed to round up the masterminds, their assistants, those that even associated with these people, or even thought like they did in one place and make a parking lot out of the whole thing!

Never again do I want to sit and watch Americans who did nothing but get up and go to work that morning have to jump to keep from burning to death because of some idiots radical Islamic bull *****!

[omded]

Hey, I wonder if Scooter Libby is a closet liberal? That name sounds awfully suspicious...

[danito123]

THIS IS TOTALLY RIDICULOUS! THIS MAN CHAUFFERED AND WAS PERSONAL BODY GUARD TO THE MOST WANTED MAN ON EARTH! HE''S STILL A MUSLIM WHO HATES AMERICA AND WANTS TO SEE IT DESTROYED! OF COURSE HE APOLOGIZED YOU IDIOTS! HE GOT CAUGHT! WHAT DO YOU THINK HE''S GOING TO DO WHEN HE GETS OUT; BECOME A MODEL CITIZEN? THE DOPES WHO MADE THIS DECISION OUGHT TO BE TRIED FOR TREASON!!! THIS IS A TOTAL INSULT AND A SLAP IN THE FACE OF THIS COUNTRY!!!

[omded]

Scooter Libby should change his name. He''s glorifying liberals. WHAT SHAME!!! It''s just like those *** French Fries...

[crescentgirl]

Whoever thinks this was a "fair trial" must be out of their minds. It is nothing but a kangaroo court put on for show for the benefit of the international community. Give me a break. This guy was held by us since 2002, without any due process...all while being subjected to torture and God knows what else at the hands of our military. I am glad that Bush is ending his presidency soon. He has made nothing but a laughing mockery of our country on the international stage.

[vietnam21]

More than 3,000 death on 9/11 and he get only 5 1/2 years ?????

[stevenga777]

I am retired from the U.S Army with one son in the Air Force and another son a Ranger in the Army. We should have killed Bin-laden a long time ago...not invade Iraq.

-----------------------------------------------------This is sort of like saying....We can''''''''t find Hitler, but we got Hitler''''''''s driver. STUPID IS AS DUBYA DOES.


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Posted by stevenga777 at 04:17 PM : Aug 07, 2008
+ report abuse


Leave it to a LIB to criticize the capture of a terrorist.

[nextgenman]

Leave it to a LIB to criticize the capture of a terrorist.


Posted by stevenga777 at 04:33 PM : Aug 07, 2008
-------

Leave it to a constipative to screech fear! fear!

[antoniof123]

Leave it to a LIB to criticize the capture of a terrorist.

Posted by stevenga777 at 04:33 PM : Aug 07, 2008

Leave it to a wing nut to be dumber than dirt spreading hate and fear. Did you read he is angry over that fact that we haven''t got bin laden.

Like I always say a wing nut is dumber than dirt.

[voltaire333]

What a joke we continue to be to the rest of the world! Torturing and imprisoning some nobody who was just trying to make a living. Meanwhile, Bin Laden roams free. I''m so ashamed of this country, I can''t tell you.

[lewiston14]

Over there having RPGs is as commen as us throwing empty beer cans in the back of an old ford F150

[mbcsmith]

Like I always say a wing nut is dumber than dirt.


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Posted by antoniof123 at 04:40 PM : Aug 07, 2008




LIBS haven''t got a clue how to defend this country. Biotch, ****, whine and moan.

Harry "I surrender" Reid pretty much represents the LIB leadership on defending this country.

NOBAMA

NO THANKS

[markmazza]

Between the folks who want to string him up and those who think he didn''t deserve what he got, I''d say, he''s lucky he''s dealing with America. North Korea would have executed the entire lot of them within the 1st hour of capture.

Does he deserve what he got? Only the jurors know, because they heard all of the testimony. And I for one think that it says a lot of good about America that in worked out the way it has.

[mbcsmith]

Leave it to a constipative to screech fear! fear!


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Posted by nextGenMan at 04:35 PM : Aug 07, 2008



I have no idea why president Bush wants to protect your worthless a$$. If it were me, I would give al-queda your home address. Move along now, sonny.

[mbcsmith]

What a joke we continue to be to the rest of the world! Torturing and imprisoning some nobody who was just trying to make a living. Meanwhile, Bin Laden roams free. I''''m so ashamed of this country, I can''''t tell you.


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Posted by Voltaire333 at 04:49 PM : Aug 07, 2008




That nobody had missiles in his trunk and was aware of terrorist activities against this country. LIBS just don''t get it!

[lewiston14]

I dont know what I would have done. If he had not had some some RPG''s in the trunk all he would have been is a driver But I bet he did not even know they were there. Maybe we thought he knew where the boss hangs out. I doubt that. Thus 5 years of trying to find out. When he gets out his own people will finish the job.

[vietnam21]

can Prosecution appeal ????

[vietnam21]

I mean Prosecutor appeal to 20-30 years ??? any one...

[voltaire333]

can Prosecution appeal ????
Posted by vietnam21 at 04:59 PM : Aug 07, 2008

LOL! Read the U.S. Constitution and see if you can''t answer your own question. If only conservatives realized how many Americans have fought and died to protect our Constitution. Maybe they''d start reading it.

[joker1944-2009]

I have no idea why president Bush wants to protect your worthless a$$.

Posted by mbcsmith at 04:55 PM : Aug 07, 2008

With ''protectors'' like Bush who needs terrorists? If you weren''t such a brain-dead conservative zombie you might notice that he along with his GOP enablers have driven the nation into the ground.

They did more to harm this country then a month of 9/11s could have. But, again, seeing as your only goal is to reinforce your already hard and fast conservative beliefs, I doubt you notice this.

[impeach__w]

He was declared a war criminal for possession of two Stinger missles.
Where did those missiles come from?
It was the CIa who provided the missles.
Later they stated they were so old now the batteries probably don''t work (but not at his trial).
This was as close to justice as this kangaroo court can probably get.

[usclimey]

That nobody had missiles in his trunk and was aware of terrorist activities against this country. LIBS just don''''t get it!

Posted by mbcsmith

No, you don''t get it ***********. We had the world''s support after 9/11. No-one would have complained if we''d essentially carpet bombed the mountains in Afghanistan in order to catch bin Laden. Then our even dumber than you president goes off in a tantrum and attacks Iraq. Since then, under Bush, this country has taken so many steps toward the dark side it has lost all credibilty with the rest of the world.

Having spent 5 years in a concentration camp on trumped up charges and being tried by an illegal under international law kangaroo court, this guy finally gets a little justice in sentencing. By the time his sentence is done, Bush will be gone, this could be Obama''s first real test as President.

[lewiston14]

"can Prosecution appeal ????

READ THE STORY

Under tribunal rules, the jury imposes the sentence, not the judge. Their verdict does not have to be unanimous, and a review by a Pentagon legal official can reduce the sentence but not increase it.

[impeach__w]

Release him to Bush Ranch Crawford, TX

[txgrouch2006]

Well I''m glad that''s settled. Based on the Paris Hilton standard, the poor fellow will spend five minutes sitting on a bench in the waiting room, then he''ll be sent home.

Now WHAT''S THE SCHEDULE FOR SENTENCING BILL CLNTON TO THE GALLOWS??

Let''s move on to the REAL CRIMINAL IN THIS CASE.

[txgrouch2006]

Release him to Bush Ranch Crawford, TX
Posted by impeach__W at 05:13 PM : Aug 07, 2008

Yes, he''s sentenced to driving Bush''s pickup truck with the lights on top of the cab (you never know when there''s an overpass too low for a pickup) around the Crawford ranch all day, listening to Dubya singing country tunes.

Naw, that''s cruel and unusual punishment. They guy would blow himself up instead.

[txgrouch2006]

WE SPENT $7?5 BAZILLION DOLLARS ON THE WAR ON TERROR, and this is the result???

All because Slick Willy lied that Saddam still had WMD''s in 1998. HE HAD NO PROOF, but he was getting impeached and he needed to make an abrupt shift in his Iraq policy.

WE''RE STILL PAYING FOR HIS LIE TODAY, while Iraq is swimming in a $79 BILLION surplus. And they haven''t paid us ONE DIME.

I''d work in the Ivins story, but I''m too PO''ed right now.

[causeway_m]

He was declared a war criminal for possession of two Stinger missles

Posted by impeach__W at 05:06 PM : Aug 07, 2008"

Actually he was found guilty of driving OBL - only the fvcking morons of the US military could spend $m on a trial to find a man guilty of admitting he drove OBL
The bizaaro and fvcked up nature of this trial is that the fella he''s been found guilty of driving hasn''t been found guilty of ANY crime

As I said before - if there''s one group in the world we can count on to be dumber than GW Bush, it''s the SS military

[vietnam21]

Release him to Bush Ranch Crawford, TX

Posted by impeach__W

Can we release him to gay prison, may be he can enjoy 72 virgin..

[causeway_m]

Posted by mbcsmith at 04:55 PM : Aug 07, 2008"

chimpy''s to busy cowering under his dungheap in TexASS to protect anyone

[txgrouch2006]

HEY! HEY! HEY! I KNOW WHERE I SAW THIS GUY BEFORE!!!

Go to Google Video (or YouTube) and search for "paris in jail music video."

THAT''S HIM! THAT''S HIM! THAT''S WHERE I SAW HIM BEFORE!!!

[beboldin09]

A victory for liberals, indeed

[causeway_m]

Can we release him to gay prison, may be he can enjoy 72 virgin..



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Posted by vietnam21 at 05:24 PM : Aug 07, 2008"

someone already suggested releasing him to Chimpy''s ranch in TexASS bubba. *** you fvcking texASSans are backward

[rickstas]

txgrouch2006:

Grow up, will ya.

[beboldin09]

Actually he was found guilty of driving OBL - only the fvcking morons of the US military could spend $m on a trial to find a man guilty of admitting he drove OBL
The bizaaro and fvcked up nature of this trial is that the fella he''''s been found guilty of driving hasn''''t been found guilty of ANY crime

As I said before - if there''''s one group in the world we can count on to be dumber than GW Bush, it''''s the SS military


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Posted by causeway_m at 05:22 PM : Aug 07, 2008


ATTN: CBS. Why are you allowing these Muslims to post this anti-American garbage on your forums?

[causeway_m]

I''''d work in the Ivins story,

Posted by txgrouch2006 at 05:20 PM : Aug 07, 2008"

A TexASSan working - now that would be a historical never seen before event

[causeway_m]

ATTN: CBS. Why are you allowing these Muslims to post this anti-American garbage on your forums?

Posted by BeBoldin09 at 05:26 PM : Aug 07, 2008"

Truth upsetting you is it bubba billy-bob ???

[beboldin09]

Truth upsetting you is it bubba billy-bob ???
Posted by causeway_m at 05:27 PM : Aug 07, 2008

The only "truth" is that CBS news.com is allowing jihadists like you to post on here posting anti-US military garbage.

You''re a friggin'' coward. Only cowards hide behind a PC posting that crapp.

[txgrouch2006]

Grow up, will ya.
Posted by Rickstas at 05:25 PM : Aug 07, 2008

Oh, right. After all the SERIOUS posts I''ve made, THAT''S the one that gets your attention.

Projection. Look it up. Admit it, it''s funny.

[fridak-2009]

This actually gives some credibility to the military court system. The jurors obviously thought the whole process stank. I''m glad they showed some integrity.