Osama Bin Laden’s Son-in-law Captured by U.S. Officials
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a former spokesman for Al Qaeda and son-in-law of Osama Bin Laden, was detained in Turkey but was then taken into U.S. custody from Jordan. Ghaith made his way into Bin Laden’s inner circle by marrying one of his daughters, Fatima. His main claim to fame was his videos posted after Sept. 11,2001 of Ghaith saying, “the storm of planes will not stop.”
This is a unique situation because although the Obama and Bush Administration has killed and detained around thirty key Al Qaeda leaders, this is the first time one of Bin Laden’s close confidents is being prosecuted on American soil. On Friday morning March 8, Ghaith pleaded not guilty to conspiring to kill Americans in lower Manhattan court just blocks away from ground zero. The details of his role of Bin Laden’s terrorism organization are still unclear. The current controversy is whether or not Ghaith should be tried in American federal courts rather than at the military detention center, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Republicans in Congress showed outrage when news was released that Ghaith was being transported into the U. S., and instead opted to be sent to Guantanamo Bay. Criminals at Guantanamo Bay generally have fewer rights and will be questioned more. Many are in disagreement over the methods of torture used, like listening to Sesame Street and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” for hours until prisoners are willing to talk.
President Barrack Obama’s opinion seems to differ from the Republicans who want Ghaith to be transferred to Guantanamo, because Obama is looking to close Guantanamo and to start charging terrorist subjects in U.S. federal court. “I give the administration credit for this: it’s steady and it’s unrelenting and it’s very successful,” Republican Peter King, member of The House Committee of Homeland Security, said in regard to persecuting on U.S. soil.
