UPDATE on BHO’s Order To Withdraw Charges Against USS Cole Bombing Mastermind

Obama Likely to Order Military Commission Charges Dropped Against Terrorist Suspect
ABC News has learned that on Friday, President Obama will likely order the Department of Defense’s Military Commission to withdraw charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The charges may later be reinstated in a military commission or pursued in a civilian court. Al-Nashiri will remain in custody.
The announcement will not be made until after President Obama meets with the families of victims of terrorist attacks on 9/11 and on the U.S.S. Cole, where he will assure them that this step is not being done to be lenient towards al-Nashiri. The move is being done to stop the continued prosecution of al-Nashiri in a court system that his administration may ultimately find illegitimate, not for any other reason, sources told ABC News.
President Obama has expressed concern about whether the military commissions set up by the Bush administration are the proper way to go forward in pursuing charges against the U.S. detainees, and on January 22 he asked all the judges supervising the trials of detainees for a continuance of 120 days, so a team of administration officials could review the best way forward.
In almost the cases, that continuance request was granted. But last week the judge supervising the al-Nashiri trial — Army Col. James L. Pohl, the chief judge at the Guantanamo Bay war crimes court — said he would not heed President Obama’s request for a 120-day continuance, or delay, in prosecutions of terrorism suspects. Pohl called the president’s request “not reasonable” and not “in the interests of justice.”
The arraignment of al-Nashiri is scheduled for Monday, February 9.

The mastermind of the USS Cole bombing and other terrorist attacks, who headed al-Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf states prior to his capture in November of 2002
Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Nashiri travelled to Afghanistan to participate in attacks against the Russians in the region. In 1996 he travelled to Tajikistan and then Jalalabad, where he first met Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden attempted to convince al-Nashiri to join al-Qaeda at this point, but he refused because he found the idea of swearing a loyalty oath to bin Laden to be distasteful. Still, after al-Nashiri travelled to Yemen, he began to consider committing terrorist actions against United States interests.
When he returned to Afghanistan in 1997, he again met bin Laden, but again declined to join in the terrorist group. Instead, he fought with the Taliban against the Afghan Northern Alliance. Still, he assisted in the smuggling of four anti-tank missiles into Saudi Arabia, and helped arrange for a terrorist to get a Yemeni passport. His cousin, Jihad Mohammad Ali al-Makki, was one of the suicide bombers in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya.
in 1998, al-Nashiri joined al-Qaeda, reporting directly to bin Laden. In late 1998, he conceived of a plot to attack a U.S. vessel using a boat full of explosives. Bin Laden personally approved of the plan, and provided money for it. First, al-Nashiri attempted to attack the USS The Sullivans as a part of the 2000 millennium attack plots, but the boat he used was overloaded with explosives and began to sink.
The next attempt, however, the USS Cole bombing, was successful. 17 U.S. sailors were killed, and many more were injured. This success brought him fame and respect within al-Qaeda, and al-Nashiri became the chief of operations for the Arabian Peninsula. He organized the Limburg tanker bombing in 2002, and he may have planned other attacks as well.
In November 2002, al-Nashiri was captured in the United Arab Emirates. He is currently in American military custody in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp,

The Navy has provided these names of the killed in the attack on the USS Cole:
Chief Petty Officer Richard Costelow, Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
Signalman Seaman Recruit Cheron Luis Gunn, Rex, Georgia.
Seaman James Rodrick McDaniels, Norfolk, Virginia.
Seaman Recruit Lakiba Nicole Palmer, San Diego, California.
Operations Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Lamont Saunders, Ringgold, Virginia.
Ensign Andrew Triplett, Macon, Mississippi.
Seaman Apprentice Craig Bryan Wibberley, Williamsport, Maryland.
Hull Maintenance Technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Monique Francis, Woodleaf, North Carolina.
Information Systems Technician Seaman Timothy Lee Gauna, Rice, Texas
Engineman 2nd Class Mark Ian Nieto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Electronics Warfare Technician 3rd Class Ronald Scott Owens, Vero Beach, Florida.
Engineman Fireman Joshua Langdon Parlett, Churchville, Maryland.
Fireman Apprentice Patrick Howard Roy, Cornwall on Hudson, New York.
Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class Kevin Shawn Rux, Portland, North Dakota.
Mess Management Specialist 3rd Class Ronchester Mananga Santiago, Kingsville, Texas
Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., Rockport, Texas

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UPDATE: Late Thursday night

ABC News:Charges Withdrawn Against Alleged U.S.S. Cole Bombing Mastermind
ABC News
Military Commission Charges Dropped Against Terrorist Suspect Al-Nashiri
As President Obama prepared to order the Department of Defense’s Military Commission to withdraw charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri on Friday afternoon, the convening authority for the Commission, Susan Crawford, withdrew the charges on her own Thursday night.
The charges were withdrawn without prejudice, meaning they later can be reinstated in a military commission or pursued in a civilian court. Al-Nashiri will remain in custody.
The original plan was for the announcement not to be made until after President Obama meets with the families of victims of terrorist attacks on 9/11 and on the U.S.S. Cole Friday afternoon, where he will assure them that this step was not done to be lenient towards al-Nashiri.

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Wild Thing’s comment……….
Ayatollah Obama’s first interview was with with Al Arabiya. And here, once again, Obama is putting Arabs first. No wonder VP Dick Cheney was upset and spoke out yesterday about Obama and about terrorist attacks!
This nightmare just won’t slow down. I wish Obama would take a little vacation or something. It’s absolutely amazing how much damage he can do with so little time in office.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Where does Obama plan on putting the newly captured beasts who kill our brave troops now, attack innocents and plot to destroy America ?
Thank you and God bless you for keeping us safe, Pres. George W. Bush. I fear those days are gone. Our new leader is inviting attacks.
Look at this……………..
Exclusive: Gates Delays Troop Decision
ABC News
Gates Delays Troop Decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan, pending The Word from The One, on what force levels, the Messiah, wants.
ABC News has learned that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has deferred a much-anticipated decision on sending additional troops into Afghanistan until President Obama decides what force levels he wants.
The news comes after an anticipated Pentagon proposal to send three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan — or 17,000 troops, as reported by ABC News last week — was presented to Gates for his approval this afternoon.
An element of the Pentagon troop proposal anticipated a large Marine brigade to be followed by two Army Brigade Combat Teams, including a Stryker Brigade. The top U.S. general in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, favors using the armored vehicles as a way of extending his troops’ presence to remote regions of Afghanistan.
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told ABC News that he disputed the idea that today’s non-decision amounted to a delay in the decision-making process.
“The decision-making process is still ongoing,” Morrell said. “I wouldn’t characterize it as a delay. There is no prescribed timeline for the commander in chief to make decisions about adding more forces to Afghanistan in the near term, and that decision, whenever it comes, does not hinge on the completion of the Afghan strategy review.”
Gates told Congress last week that if Obama were to decide in favor of sending the additional brigades, he anticipated that “we could have two of those brigades there probably by late spring, and potentially a third by mid-summer.”
In addition, the Obama administration currently is awaiting the completion of ongoing strategy reviews for Afghanistan.
Those include a recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, another from Gen. David Petraeus, who heads Central Command, and another from Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s civilian envoy to Afghanistan. The reviews were begun under the Bush administration last fall.