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DOJ Announces Arrest in Kentucky of Two Men Involved in IED Attacks in Iraq

Robert Chesney
Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 3:22 PM
Last week I posted about the views of some in Congress who are upset that the government might not employ the military commission system to prosecute certain offenses committed in Iraq.  I noted that there had been a prior case in which we rather than the Iraqis prosecuted someone involved in IED attacks in Iraq, that we did so in the United States using the ordinary criminal justice system, and that there was never any serious prospect of doing otherwise since the case involved a defendant whom we had to extradite from the Netherla

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Last week I posted about the views of some in Congress who are upset that the government might not employ the military commission system to prosecute certain offenses committed in Iraq.  I noted that there had been a prior case in which we rather than the Iraqis prosecuted someone involved in IED attacks in Iraq, that we did so in the United States using the ordinary criminal justice system, and that there was never any serious prospect of doing otherwise since the case involved a defendant whom we had to extradite from the Netherlands (and the Dutch were not going to give him to us if we were going to put the guy before a commission).   Why mention all this? Because today, the Justice Department announced the arrest and indictment of two Iraqi men  in Kentucky, on charges stemming in part from IED attacks and other insurgency activities in Iraq. The DOJ press release providing the details is here; the indictment of Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan is here; the complaint and accompanying affidavit againt Hammadi is here; and the complaint and affidavit against Alwan is here.  As you will see, the cases involve extensive allegations of activity not just while in Iraq but also later after arrival in the United States (both men entered the United States in 2009, applying for and receiving refugee status).

Robert (Bobby) Chesney is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, where he also holds the James A. Baker III Chair in the Rule of Law and World Affairs at UT. He is known internationally for his scholarship relating both to cybersecurity and national security. He is a co-founder of Lawfare, the nation’s leading online source for analysis of national security legal issues, and he co-hosts the popular show The National Security Law Podcast.

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