Obama Releases Violent Terrorist During Pope's Visit

Papal Distraction?

by Robert Chambers - Sep 23, 2015

President Barack Obama, acting on his own as he did in June earlier this year when he released six Gitmo detainees to Yemen and without notifying Congress in advance, has released Abdul Rahman Shalabi, 39 – believed to be one of Osama Bin Laden’s personal bodyguards – to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia spawned 15 of the 19 9/11 attackers and was the source of Bin Laden’s wealth that he used to finance and execute the attacks on the United States that claimed the lives of 2,996 people in four separate passenger jet attacks.

Two planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City, one that hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and one that crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after a passenger revolt brought the plane down before it could reach its target – presumably The White House or the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Since the beginning of the Afghanistan war that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks, the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been used by the federal government as a prison to house America’s most lethal enemies – radical Jihadist’s taken from the battlefield and locked up where they could do no more harm.

Shalabi, who is described as one of Bin Laden’s bodyguards, is believed to be the 20th 9/11 hijacker who was unable to participate in the attacks because he turned up as security risk by domestic law enforcement. The bodyguard job was Shalabi’s consolation prize.

He was captured in 2001 by the Pakistani army and was among the first group of detainees to be sent to the U.S. military prison. His lawyers have said Shalabi had been on a hunger strike since 2005 and was being force-fed his meals.

The New York Times reported:

“In a statement explaining its reasoning, the board said Mr. Shalabi had “terrorist-related activities and connections” in the past, but said it was confident that the Saudi government’s rehabilitation program and its ability to monitor former detainees would mitigate the risks.”

“The board also cited the fact that Mr. Shalabi’s nephew, who was repatriated from Guantánamo in President George W. Bush’s second term and went through the Saudi rehabilitation program, has apparently lived quietly ever since.”

“The board also considered the detainee’s well-established family, their willingness and ability to support him upon his return, and their prior success in assisting with the rehabilitation and reintegration of a former Guantánamo detainee,” the review panel said.”

“Mr. Shalabi appeared before the board at a hearing in April. He asked that his statements not be made public. But a lawyer helping to represent him, Julia Tarver-Mason Wood, told the board that he just wanted “to settle down, get married and have a family of his own, and put the past behind him.”

Since Congress has rejected the possibility of bringing detainees to U.S. prisons where they would be entitled to all the constitutional protections of American citizens and the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), President Obama chose instead to empty the prison by transferring prisoners to other countries.

Shalabi was held by the United States as a wartime prisoner for more than 13 years and letting him go free while we are still engaged in a worldwide war on terrorism is contrary to the rules of war and international law.

The contents of a leaked military dossier states that President Obama was releasing Shalabi with “assurances” from Saudi Arabia that he would be rehabilitated to “mitigate” the risk that he will resume his killing spree against American citizens and the West.