Terror Suspect Al-Marri Pleads Guilty

(CBS/AP)  A man who was locked up without charges for years pleaded guilty Thursday to training in al Qaeda camps and coming to the United States on a mission for the terrorist group the day before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Ali al-Marri, 43, admitted to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. A second charge of providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization was dropped.

Al-Marri faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his July 30 sentencing, though he will be credited for 18 months spent in civilian custody. His attorneys say they'll argue that he should get credit for the time spent in military custody, too - more than five years.
"That is an issue that has not been determined yet," Sharon Paul, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois told CBS News.
"This will be a key issue at sentencing,"' al-Marri attorney Jonahtan Hafetz, of the ACLU told CBS News. "We will argue he deserves credit at least for every day and more given the brutality of his conditions."
In the case of one-time "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla, the federal judge factored the three-and-half-years he was harshly detained as an "enemy combatant" prior to his transfer back to the criminal justice system.
Padilla was sentenced in January 2008 to 17 years for his conviction on conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist group, and he currently resides as the federal "Supermax" in Colorado. The government, which had asked for 30 years, has appealed his sentence as too light.
"Without a doubt, this case is a grim reminder of the seriousness of the threat we, as a nation, still face," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement Thursday. "But it also reflects what we can achieve when we have faith in our criminal justice system and are unwavering in our commitment to the values upon which this nation was founded and the rule of law."

Al-Marri's attorneys said their client, a married father of five from Qatar, chose to plead guilty to avoid the risk, if found guilty, of spending 30 years in prison.

"We thought (the plea) was the right approach to take based on the evidence the government allowed us to review over the last several weeks," attorney Andy Savage said outside the federal courthouse in Peoria.

When the judge asked al-Marri how would plead, the diminutive Bradley University graduate, seated at a table with his lawyers, paused briefly before answering without emotion, "guilty."

Al-Marri admitted he trained in al Qaeda camps and stayed in al Qaeda safe houses in Pakistan between 1998 and 2001, where he learned how to handle weapons and how to communicate by phone and e-mail using a code.

He also admitted meeting and having regular contact with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and with Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, who allegedly helped the Sept. 11 hijackers with money and Western-style clothing.

Al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident, was arrested in late 2001 while studying at Bradley in Peoria after federal authorities alleged he was tied to organizers of the 2001 attacks.

The Bush administration declared al-Marri an "enemy combatant" in 2003 and held him without charges for more than five years at a Navy brig in South Carolina. His attorneys say he was tortured there.

The "enemy combatant" designation was dropped when he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Illinois. He was moved to a federal prison in Pekin, Ill., just outside Peoria, in March, and remains there.

Holder said President Barack Obama ordered him to review the al-Marri case shortly after Obama took office in January.

Al-Marri got a bachelor's degree in business management administration from Bradley in 1991, then went to work for a bank in Qatar. The government said he met with Osama bin Laden in the summer of 2001 and was sent to the U.S. to help al Qaeda operatives carry out post-Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Al-Marri obtained a student visa and returned to the U.S. the day before terrorists crashed two hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

[Tu_eres]

One more question, why do you folks keep posting the same thing over and over again? It is tiresome to keep seeing the same post on every page. Sound like a bunch of cry babies here.
Posted by stryker54

Probably the same reason you do shrieker54. Limited vocabulary, limited intellect, repeating what you hear on the tube, yadayadayada

[stryker54]

One more question, why do you folks keep posting the same thing over and over again? It is tiresome to keep seeing the same post on every page. Sound like a bunch of cry babies here.

[stryker54]

I wonder if any of you people think about the anguish and torture the people in the planes endured brfotr being slammed into the buildings or the ground. It was the belief of these people that brought us to this point. I suppose too when the Japanese bombed Pearl we should have sat back and said "WE ARE SORRY WE UPSET YOU INTO BOMBING US"
All you folks want to do is bash America when you bash any POTUS. whether you voted for them or not, you shouls get behind the President. I didn't vote for Obama, but i do stand behind him whether his actions or policies I agree with or not. United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

[dwath]

My point is, I do not believe the Fox Noise Channel is either 'fair' or 'balanced'. I believe they are the antithesis of NBC, ABC and CBS. The truth of the matter is, the man has a job to do. It would be nice to be loved an adored by all, but all of the hateful speech towards the president on this form is proof such is not the case.

TJ, You do not believe they are either fair or balanced because you do not like their positions and you do not like what they cover. Is hannity fair and balanced? NO, but, he does not pretend to be, yet, he does permit the other side to be voiced which does not happen on Olberman. Further I find the coverage so very biased on ABC, NBC and CBS if for no other reasons than A. So positive coverage of Obama for past 2+ years. We all have wrinkles. and B. Failure to cover the other side of issues where there IS a clear otherside.

[dwath]

Let's discount the rabid people on either side for a moment. They are a relatively small percentage of the complainers. Here are some problems with Obama and crew from MY perspective:
1. Rabid support for abortion including usurpation of states rights on the issue. (Freedom of choice act)
2. Support for the Union Right to Harrass bill ( Card Check) which is completely in variance with the American Ideal of Private Voting.
3. Support for Gay Rights.
4. Support for outrageous spending. (3 times Bushes 8 year total in 3 + monts)
5. Yes, there are many socialist programs starting with Health Care. Do not care to get into the argument now and it includes many levels. I do not support the Bail out--certainly not to the level it has gone. Did not support Bush on this issue either.
6. Illegal immigration issue. (Note, I do support a guest worker with emphasis on guest, meaning you return to your country when the work is done.) The problem of guest populations in massive numbers goes back at least to the Isrealites in Egypt. Europe is certainly a great example of what happens when you do not control your immigration.
7. Mealymouthed ness internationally.
8. Support of Palestinians. (Again, huge issue w/ multitude of wrinkles, suffice it to say, the Arabs WANT the conflict. The issue could have been resolved decades ago.

Disagreement on these issues w/ Obama have zero to do w/ the fact he is Black. To me, the only saving grace of his election was the fact Americans--and that means white america--was color blind enough to vote for a Black man.

The minority of the conservatives disagreement is based on his color. It is based on his politics.

One final thing. Why shouldn't he release his real, full Birth Certificate? He gives his political enemies grounds to question his right to even run for the office. Simply releasing his birth cert w/ place of birth would take 90 percent of the air out of the sails of those who beat that drum. You all thought Bush was into secrecy, this guy and his crew are ten times that.

So TJ, to call these valid policy disagreements "racist" just is not so. Racist is when I question he right to be president based on his heritage. Racist is when I say, "See, he is black, therefore the things he does are stupid." This is not the argument the vast majority of conservatives are making. We really do not care about his race. We do care about his policies.

[endurorob]

Bush has probably received more criticism than Obama. Thhis is due to his own clear and present stupidity moreso than anything else. Obama receives a ton of criticism duer to his race. Words like 'Arab', for instance. With what happened on 9/11, I guess it's good to be a Muslim in America right about now. Alsom, a lot of the statements that have been made are racist, but due to the Republican non-think responses, the people making these statments would refuse to call them what they are (I'm not a racist because I say I'm not a racist, but you are a racist because you called me one).
Posted by tj217-2009 at 10:00 AM : May 1, 2009


Granted there are a few that throw around the term muslim when speeking of Obama and,deserved or not, it is due to his fathers family being muslim. That being said the vast majority of criticism is due to his policies and not his race. It is a widely used tactic of the left to accuse those who disagree with them of being racisits or bigots when they in fact, as demonstated by the verbal attacks against anyone that disagrees with them,re bigots.

[endurorob]

I kinda have to disagree with you on that one. Whereas some of the criticism Obama receives is due to political differences, I personally believe a lot of it has to due with his race. I am fully aware of how some make snide comments because he is black, while others can't stand the fact that a black man beat a white man---or white woman. See Hillary--- in a political campaign. For those who disagree with the president due to policies, that is your right. But, I truly believe a lot of the criticism he receives is due to his race moreso than his policies. Also, this nonsense about the man 'being an Arab'. I guess Khalil Greene, shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, is a Muslim. After all, he has an Arab first name. If the man didn't gow up with his father and his father was an Arab, how does that make him an Arab? Point to one policy---just ONE---policy he has either authored or supported that is 'socialist' or communist'. Name the policy. I challenge anyone to do so...
Posted by tj217-2009 at 9:10 AM : May 1, 2009


Bush received at least as much criticism as Obama. Is that because of his race or because of disagreement with policies?

[dwath]

Yo Masses, WHO is the idiot Troll?

TJ. Again, you need to learn to discuss issues w/o the use of words like "Idiot, Lame, Stupid etc." You lose credibility.

Part of the problem with the use of the word "Torture" is the lack of definition. Is anything unpleasant torture? I do not think so. Are there times where candy works better than vinigar? Absolutely AND usually. Mostly, interrogation is a mind game. Sometimes, you get tougher people and the need is more immediate. The relatively small amount of number of people who had harsh methods used is testament to that.

A lot of those in isolation are there because of their behavior. In ALL penal institutions, you are punished for behavior. We have isolation cells in virtually all of our prisons. Is that torture? For people who need company it certainly is. But, you do not start there, you wend your weary way there.

Now, I must be off.

[dwath]

TJ, of course there is an alternative argument. There is always an alternative argument. Let's talk abortion for a moment as that appears to be a hot button for you. Even within the pro-life movement, there are a multitude of positions. ZERO tolerance, Ok for Rape, incest, Mother's health etc. But, the Pro Abortionists insist on full support for abortion, no right to opt out of providing services due to religious beliefs, banning of counter arguemnt (here are your alternatives to abortion...) This adminsitration is preparing laws that will effectively shut down many of the life services clinics which offer CHOICES other than abortion. Planned Parenthood on the other hand, tries to silence these voices. PP plays down the psychological effects of abortions. Should abortion just be another means of birth control? My 12 year old (hypothetically) can not get her ears pierced w/o parental approval but she can get an abortion without parental approval? That does not pass the common sense test. (There are alternatives for abusive situations vice parental permission.)

It goes on. There ARE counter arguments to every point. We should Man up, or Woman up as the case may be and listen to them. We may not change, but, the arguments are there and are often valid. You CAN have valid points on both side of an issue. In the end, we balance all the points and come to a decision.

[dwath]

TJ, How can you honestly say Obama does not care about the Press? I have never seen a politician or group of them so thin skinned as this bunch. Say anything negative and the band begins to play "You Evil Racist." (Policy disagreements are not racist because he who supports one side is Black. Yet, that is what Jeannie Garfalo said on Olberman's show.)

Do you honestly believe reporting on Obama has been anything other than adulation since he started running? The media dumped their darling Hillary and jumped on his bandwagon as soon as he announced. This has been a love fest from the beginning. Compare the type questions asked of Bush with questions asked of Obama. Antagonistic/friendly and supportive.

Your position on Olberman is interesting to me. You feel those emotions towards him because he expresses your opinions. That is my entire point. Everything you said about Fox is true in reverse for Olberman especially and for ABC, CBS and NBC. It is all about information control. There are two ways you do this. By WHAT your report and by what you DO NOT report.

The point I am making is we have to examine what comes out and what does not come out against the counterpoints. Just screaming hate at ideas you disagree with and slavishly parrotting the ideology you support takes you nowhere.