Yemeni Child Bride Dies After Sex

I guess we shouldn't mention this as we might be called Islamaphobes or something.

A 13-year-old Yemeni girl who was forced into marriage died five days after her wedding when she suffered a rupture in her sex organs and hemorrhaging, a local rights organization said today.

Ilham Mahdi al Assi died last Friday in a hospital in Yemen's Hajja province, the Shaqaeq Arab Forum for Human Rights said in a statement quoting a medical report.

She was wedded the previous Monday in a traditional arrangement known as a "swap marriage," in which the brother of the bride also married the sister of the groom, it said.

"The child Ilham has died as a martyr due to the abuse of children's lives in Yemen," the non-governmental organization said.

Her death was a "flagrant example" of the results of opposing the ban on child marriage in Yemen, which was leading to "killing child females," it said.

The marriage of young girls is widespread in Yemen, which has a strong tribal structure.

The death of a 12-year-old girl in childbirth in September illustrated the case of the country's "brides of death," many of whom were married off even before puberty.

Silence of the Blogs: The Left's Non-Reaction to the Jersey Jihadi

Several weeks ago a maniac named Joseph Stack flew a plane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas, leaving behind a manifesto declaring his hatred for George W. Bush, among others, while signing off with a Communist tribute. Stack was immediately declared a tea partier by many on the left, who conveniently omitted certain facts in order to fit their narrative that his hatred for the government naturally made him a right-winger. To say the least it was a fatuous stretch of logic rendered null by the facts. Ten days later this absurdity culminated in the now infamous Frank Rich screed that has permanently consigned Rich to laughingstock status. Curiously the left has since been silent once they realized how ridiculous they looked.

Last Thursday a registered Democrat by the name of John Patrick Bedell shot two police officers outside the Pentagon before mercifully being terminated. The fact he was a registered Democrat was ignored and the left went into an orgiastic frenzy of finger-pointing toward the right, immediately declaring him a "teabagger" with nary the slightest bit of evidence to support their wild claims. The Politico highlighted how the right "resisted" ties to Bedell, which only made sense since Bedell was far from a right-winger.

The reflexive pushback by conservatives highlights a growing anxiety about being linked to the uptick of extremism targeting bogeymen of the far-right fringe during the Obama administration.

So today we discover a a former New Jersey resident turned al Qaeda operative in Yemen named Sharif Mobley is responsible for murdering a hospital security guard in Yemen and just so happened to once act as a campaign operative for Jon Corzine and what is the reaction of those so quick to point fingers after the Stack and Bedell incidents?

Silence.

Well, why are Mobley's al Qaeda links important, and his presence in Yemen significant? Does the name Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab ring any bells? Remember him? He tried to blow up a plane on Christmas Day. Recall he said he was the first of many coming out of Yemen? You suppose maybe a fellow like Mobley, an American with an American passport, could have been recruited as an operative to come back here with mass murder in mind?

Is Janet Napolitano connecting any dots tonight? Apparently not. But I guess the system is working, right?

So why are all the hawks on the left silent? Where is the obsessive pony-tailed blogger? Oh, he's still pathetically jonesing on other bloggers and sucking up to Stephen Colbert or something, pitifully reduced to using Media Matters as a source for his latest smears. How sad.

Elsewhere, let's see, there must be some reaction in the sane blogosphere, right?

Uh, nothing.

So we have a homegrown terrorist posing an obvious threat to national security and there's not a whiff of Janet Napolitano being aware of it, nobody in the leftwing blogosphere gives a rat's ass about it, he once did some legwork for Democrat Jon Corzine and most of the media yawns.

Just imagine what the reaction would be if he once attended a tea party. We have a man posing a clear and present danger with ties to God only knows who, recruited surely by al Qaeda operatives in this country in all likelihood and this news is greeted with silence. Yet when homegrown maniacs such as a Stack or a Bedell act in vengeance they're immediately linked to the right without the slightest bit of evidence to support such wild claims. Who poses a greater threat to national security? Isolated nutjobs like Bedell and Stack or al Qaeda operatives like Sharif Mobley? The focus on Bedell and Stack by the left, unsupported by any evidence, ought to tell you volumes about their priorities.

Update: Need another reason why this should be huge news?

The South Jersey man who Yemini officials are calling a terrorist with links to al-Qaeda previously worked at three local nuclear power plants.

Sharif Mobley, 26, is being held in a jail in Yemen after he allegedly killed a police guard and seriously injured another during a shootout at a hospital on Monday.

The Buena, N.J. native has also been accused of taking part in several acts of terrorism, Yemini officials say. He also purportedly has ties to the same branch of al-Qaeda who are suspected of attempting to blow up a U.S. airliner on its way to Detroit on Christmas.

Crickets are still chirping on the left.

Instapundit, Michelle Malkin and Newsbusters link. Thanks!

Jersey Jihadi in Yemen: 'He Was a Nice Kid. It's Shocking'

Yeah, it's always those nice kids that turn out to be terrorists. The families are usually the last to get a grip on reality.

A suspected Al Qaeda militant from New Jersey is being investigated by the FBI after his arrest in the Middle East for allegedly trying to shoot his way out of a hospital in Yemen, WMGM-TV in Atlantic City reported.

Federal sources confirmed that 26-year-old Sharif Mobley is in custody after a shooting rampage in a Yemeni hospital that killed one guard and injured another.

FBI spokesman Rich Wolf in Baltimore said the agency is looking into the case. Mobley was reportedly being held prisoner in the hospital and was caught after a chase following the shooting.

Mobley's mother told WMGM-TV the accusations are false but did say that when she last spoke to her son in late January he was in Yemen. She said the FBI had visited her for questioning but insisted her son has never been in trouble and is a good Muslim.

Mobley's father, Charles, said the family was waiting for further information.

"We don't know nothing, we're trying to hear something," Charles Mobley told WMGM-TV.

Mobley's former classmates from New Jersey expressed shock at both his suspected Al Qaeda ties and his deadly escape attempt in Yemen.

"I remember him from high school," WMGM-TV quoted Dawn Bass. "He was just outgoing. He wanted to be, like, the center of attention. He was a nice kid. It's shocking. I wouldn't expect anybody that I graduated with to do something like that."

The FBI declined to comment further on the case, but sources say federal investigators of Buena, N.J. have an interest in Mobley and are waiting for more information to come out of Yemen.

The good Muslim was also an election day campaign worker for Jon Corzine.

Campaign finance records show Mobley received $75 as an election day worker for Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign in 2005.

No doubt most media will lead with that little nugget.

'Lackawanna Six' Suspect in Yemen, U.S. Kindly Appoints a Lawyer

It's bad enough we allowed the Christmas Day wannabe bomber to lawyer up, but now we're appointing lawyers to terror suspects picked up in Yemen?

The United States has appointed a Buffalo, N.Y., lawyer to counsel Yemeni-American terror suspect Jaber Elbaneh, who's been in custody in Yemen since 2008 and faces charges in New York that he helped recruit the so-called "Lackawanna Six" to train with al-Qaida.

U.S. Attorney Kathleen Mehltretter says the 43-year-old Elbaneh asked for a lawyer during a recent visit from U.S. government officials. Yemeni officials tell The Associated Press Thursday he's been in prison there since a 2008 terror conspiracy conviction.

Now this account says he's been in custody since 2008, yet a report today seems contradict that.

Jaber A. Elbaneh, who allegedly helped recruit the Lackawanna Six and is described by the FBI as one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists, is once again in custody in his home country of Yemen, The Buffalo News learned Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors and FBI agents want him returned to Buffalo to face criminal charges in the Lackawanna Six case that have been pending against him since 2002. They charge that he was part of the group of Lackawanna men who trained at an al-Qaida terrorist camp in Afghanistan.

But because Yemen has no extradition agreement with the United States, authorities said that there is no way of knowing whether Elbaneh, 43, will ever return to face the charges.

Yemeni authorities have had Elbaneh in custody several times in the past seven years, but Yemen’s government has refused requests from the U.S. government to extradite him.

“We are aware that he is in custody in Yemen and that he has asked for an attorney to represent him on the charges we filed against him,” U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter said Wednesday afternoon.

“We do want to prosecute him [in Buffalo], but as you know, there is no extradition treaty between the U.S. and Yemen.”

Mehltretter and other law enforcement officials declined to discuss how, when or why Elbaneh recently landed in the custody of Yemeni officials. A spokesman at Yemen’s embassy in Washington did not respond to telephone or e-mail messages from The News.

A Buffalo attorney, James W. Grable Jr., confirmed that he has been assigned by U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to represent Elbaneh.

Yemen President Wants 'Dialogue' With Al Qaeda

This guy sound like a liberal Democrat. Gee, if we're just nice to them they'll lay down their arms and we'll all get along. What could possibly go wrong?

Good grief.

Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh said he is open to dialogue with Al-Qaeda militants, as a top official warned that dozens of foreign jihadists are grouping in a remote part of the impoverished country.

"If Al-Qaeda (militants) lay down their arms, renounce violence and terrorism and return to wisdom, we are prepared to deal with them," Saleh told Abu Dhabi TV in an interview carried by Yemen's Saba news agency on Sunday.

"We are prepared to deal with anyone who renounces violence and terrorism," he said.

Is there anyone on the planet who really believes Al Qaeda wants to "get along" and renounce violence?

Washington has urged Yemen to crack down on Al-Qaeda after the local franchise of Osama bin Laden's network said it was behind a Christmas Day botched bombing on board a US airliner.

Saleh, whose country is also facing a Shiite rebellion in the north and a movement for autonomy in the south, stressed the government will crack down heavily on those who resort to violence.

"They are a threat not only to Yemen but also to international peace and security, particularly Al-Qaeda. They are ignorants, drug dealers and illiterate. They have no relation with Islam," he said

Uh, so why the desire for "dialogue"?

Saleh can be guaranteed of one thing: If he has any "dialogue" with Al Qaeda he'll be signing his own death warrant.

The System is Working! MI5 Knew About Crotch Bomber, Said Nothing

Nice to see Britain's MI5 on top of things as our own Department of Homeland Security. I guess their system is working.

Britain's top spy agency, MI5, detected Detroit airline bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab talking with London Islamist extremists three years ago, but said nothing, according to a new report.

The man who tried to blow up a flight from Amsterdam with an underwear bomb was a student at University College London when he had "multiple communications" with suspected terrorists, the Sunday Times of London reported.

The paper's source said the 23-year-old Nigerian was "starting out on a journey" of hate that led him to attempt the Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Head firmly buried in the sand, Obama blames -- what else? -- poverty in Yemen, no the twisted brand of Muslim ideology.

Meanwhile, President Obama yesterday made his strongest statement yet tying the bomber to Yemen's al Qaeda branch.

"We know that he traveled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies," Obama said in his weekly address.

"It appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda, and that this group -- al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America."

He seems quite sure of all this after spending the past week scouring for clues on Hawaii's finest golf courses. Still no calls for a 12/25 Commission, I guess.

Seems according to MI5 Abdulmutallab was one of many "youths" being recruited by Al Qaeda.

Intelligence officials have defended their decision not to flag Abdulmutallab as a possible terrorist risk. They say he was one of many youths who mix with extremists, but are not themselves thought to be involved in plotting or supporting terrorism.

A senior Whitehall official said the intelligence agency had conducted a quick assessment of Abdulmutallab while he was living in London and concluded that he was not a threat to national security.

“There had to be a judgment made depending on the nature of the relationship as to whether there was any threat,” said one official. “Someone will have judged: okay, [he is] noted but if there was no evidence of a threat, [they would] move on.”

British officials believe Abdulmutallab was recruited to undertake the Detroit plot after he left Britain, most probably while he was in Yemen last summer. Up to a dozen young British Muslims are thought to be engaged in terrorist training there, according to officials.

While in Britain, Abdulmutallab attended a mosque in Goodge Street, central London, which is run by the Muslim World League, a Saudi-based organisation. The league promulgates a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, but has repeatedly condemned terrorism.

One of the radical preachers believed to have inspired Abdulmutallab is the American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is based in Yemen and is believed to have inspired several terrorist cells in Britain and the United States.

Great News: Waves of Suicide Bombers Training in Yemen

Don't worry, though. Janet Napolitano is on the job.

Cops fear that 25 British-born Muslims are plotting to bomb Western airliners.

The fanatics, in five groups, are now training at secret terror camps in Yemen.

It was there London-educated Umar Abdulmutallab, 23, prepared for his Christmas Day bid to blow up a US jet.

The British extremists in Yemen are in their early 20s and from Bradford, Luton and Leytonstone, East London.

They are due to return to the UK early in 2010 and will then await Internet instructions from al-Qaeda on when to strike.

More here.

Don't sweat any of this. The Muslim world loves us again. Plus the geniuses at DHS tell us this isn't part of any larger plot, so go back to sleep. It would be terrible if we offended anyone by labeling them as suspects.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Club Gitmo Grad Behind Yemen Slaughter?

A little something for Barack Obama to think about as he rushes to close down Guantanamo Bay. Obviously facts can be stubborn at times.

The fate of three of nine foreigners abducted in Yemen last week is known — their bodies were found, shot execution style. The whereabouts of the other six — including three children under the age of 6 — remain a mystery.

But terrorism experts say their abductors and killers are almost certainly not a mystery. They say the crimes bear the mark of Al Qaeda, and they fear they are the handiwork of the international terror organization's No. 2 man in the Arabian Peninsula: Said Ali al-Shihri, an Islamic extremist who once was in American custody — but who was released from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And if al-Shihri is behind the gruesome murders and abductions, they say, it raises grave concerns that the scheduled January 2010 closing of the Guantanamo prison and the release of most of its prisoners to foreign countries will galvanize Al Qaeda and compromise American national security.

The nine foreigners — four German adults, three small German children, a British man and a South Korean woman — were abducted on June 12 after they ventured outside the city of Saada without their required police escorts, according to a spokesman from the Yemeni Embassy in Washington. Days later the bodies of Rita Stumpp and Anita Gruenwald, German nurses in training, and Eom Young-sun of South Korea were found shot execution style in the Noshour Valley in the province of Saada, an area known to be a hotbed of Al Qaeda activity.

Stumpp and Gruenwald attended a Bible school, and Young attended a Christian missionary school in South Korea. Other members of the group had ties to missionary organizations, and all six adults worked for World Wide Services Foundation, a Dutch international medical relief group.

No one has claimed responsibility for the abductions and murders, but experts say killing women and children is considered off-limits among many jihadist groups — though not to al-Shihri, a Saudi national who was released from Guantanamo in November 2007 and sent to a Saudi Arabian "rehabilitation" program for jihadists. It wasn't long before a "cured" al-Shihri was released from the program, crossed into Yemen and rejoined Al Qaeda, with whom he quickly rose to deputy commander.

I see that Saudi rehab is really paying dividends.

Previously.

Former Club Gitmo Guest Turned Al Qaeda Honcho Surrenders

Given the penchant for headchopping in the Kingdom, we can only hope for the best. Though somehow I suspect after this cat is properly "rehabbed" he'll be walking free.

A former Guantanamo detainee who later became an al-Qaida field commander has surrendered and was handed over Tuesday to Saudi authorities.

Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi was one of two Saudis released from Guantanamo who re-emerged as al-Qaida operatives in a militant video released a day after President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the prison within a year.

In the video, al-Oufi wore a camouflage shirt with a leather bandolier of bullets draped over shoulder and threatened the United States.

"In the end, we say to the countries of the cross that are garrisoned on the land of (Saudi Arabia) and which support the crusader war against Muslims: By Allah, we are coming. By Allah, we are coming," he said.

Al-Oufi was detainee number 333 at Guantanamo, and he was released in 2007. In the video, he said he went to Yemen after completing the Saudi government's rehabilitation program for former Guantanamo inmates and other militants.

Back to rehab, Abu.

The Yemeni Interior Ministry announced al-Oufi's surrender Tuesday. Saudi government officials confirmed he was handed over to Saudi authorities in order to contact his family and return to his former rehabilitation center, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Sheik Mohammed al-Nujaimi, who helps run the rehabilitation program, said al-Oufi had contacted the program's headquarters and "expressed a desire to surrender and return to Saudi Arabia."

Perhaps when he's properly rehabbed he can move on to more lucrative pursuits at the ACLU or DNC.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Stunner: Nine Former Club Gitmo Guests Rearrested

That terrorist rehab just wasn't cutting it.

SAUDI authorities have rearrested nine Islamist militants, including former inmates of the US military detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the interior ministry said.

The ministry yesterday said the nine Saudi nationals had undergone a rehabilitation program for Islamist militants arrested in the kingdom and for returnees from the notorious US prison.

"Since the start of the rehabilitation program, nine people, who had taken part in the program, have been rearrested," a ministry official told state news agency SPA.

"Some of them had returned from Guantanamo," the official said.

The comments come in the wake of reports that two men who had been released from Guantanamo and went through the rehabilitation program had resurfaced in Yemen and had rejoined al-Qaeda.

Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler Obama was unavailable for comment.

Speaking of Yemen, there was an attack on a checkpoint at the U.S. Embassy. Surely just some misunderstanding.

Gunmen in a car exchanged fire Monday with police at a checkpoint near the U.S. Embassy in Yemen's capital, an Interior Ministry official said, hours after the embassy received threats of a possible attack.

No one was injured and the two gunmen fled the scene, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to have his name made public. He said three suspects in the area were detained.

It was not clear who was behind the shooting, but al-Qaida has for years maintained a strong presence in the country, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden.

Recall in the 18-month buildup to the Iraq invasion all we heard from the left was we were "rushing to war"?

Why are we rushing to close down Guantanamo Bay when it's plainly obvious these monsters are there for a reason?

Yemen Frees bin Laden 'Driver'

One of those poor, beleaguered innocents and darlings of the ACLU from Club Gitmo has been freed in Yemen.

YEMEN has freed Osama bin Laden's former driver after he served out his prison term following his return home from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

"Salim Hamdan was released on Thursday to live with his family in Sanaa," his lawyer, Khaled al-Ansi, said.

He said Hamdan had signed a pledge not to commit any violent acts.

Well, he signed a pledge. I'm just sure he's a man of his word.

An Interior Ministry official confirmed the release of Hamdan, who was convicted in a US court on terrorism charges and later sent back to Yemen.

In the first US war crimes trial since World War II, Hamdan was convicted in August of providing personal services in support of terrorism by driving and guarding bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda.

Hamdan was sentenced to 66 months in prison but given credit for time served at Guantanamo.

Hamdan, who is about 40, acknowledged he was part of bin Laden's motor pool in Afghanistan, but said he took the job because he needed the salary and did not know or support his employer's aims.

There are people out there dumb enough to believe that.

Danish Warship Sinks Pirate Ship

Strangely enough, they actually rescued these thugs before sinking their ship.

A DANISH anti-piracy warship has rescued seven suspected pirates whose boat had broken down in the Gulf of Aden and then sank their heavily-armed vessel.

Danish soldiers seized several anti-tank rockets and AK-47 assault rifles from the pirate ship, whose engine had failed 90 nautical miles from Yemen, a television reporter aboard the Absalon navy ship said.

The pirates, who said they had been adrift at sea for eight days, were fed by the Danish navy and placed on inflatable boats with Danish navy divers alongside the Absalon.

According to Reuters, they're "suspected" pirates. We can't rush to any hasty conclusion here.

The Naval Operational Command said the Absalon was bound by international law to help the men and that Danish sailors had uncovered a number of weapons onboard the vessel similar to those often used in pirate attacks on merchant ships.

Honestly, would anyone give a shit if their boat was sank with the "suspected" pirates on board?

Rough Justice: Most Wanted al Qaeda Walks Free on His Own Recognizance

Yemen is really doing its part to help in the war on terror.

This is what you get when you take the fight into the courtroom.

I get the sneaking suspicion he'll soon disappear.

SENIOR al-Qaeda figure Jaber al-Banna, who has a $US5 million ($5.4 million) US bounty on his head, walked free from an appeal hearing in Yemen overnight after being granted bail on his own recognisance.

Banna, who has joint Yemeni-US citizenship and was handed a 10-year jail term in absentia last year, is one of 36 convicted militants who are appealing prison sentences of between two and 15 years.

He surrendered to Yemeni authorities in December after negotiations lasting several months. There has still been no word of what deal, if any, was struck.

Banna made his first court appearance at the opening of the appeal on February 23 when he was allowed to walk free without any bail conditions at all.

At the overnight hearing, Banna urged the court to overturn his "unjust" sentence and accused the Yemeni government of colluding with the US to imprison him. He is due back in court on March 23.

Washington suspects Banna of providing material support to al-Qaeda and has offered a reward of up to $US5 million for his arrest.

He is one of a number of al-Qaeda suspects who have been the subject of arguments between Sanaa and Washington.

Yemen and the US previously clashed over Jamal al-Badawi, a suspected al-Qaeda militant jailed for 15 years, for his role in the October 2000 bombing of the destroyer USS Cole off the southern port of Aden which killed 17 US sailors.

Badawi, who also has a $US5 million US bounty on his head, was among 23 convicted al-Qaeda militants who escaped from jail in February 2006.

He surrendered to the authorities in October but neighbours said he was being allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest in his home.

More here and here.

Don't Worry, The Democrats Plan To Do It

Just what George W. Bush needs, advice from the Yemenis.

Our good friends who allowed the bombing of the USS Cole on their soil and who can't keep track of terrorists are just the people we need to take advice from.

Sure, it makes perfect sense. Let some of the world's most vicious killers walk free and the whole world will love us.

Pretty simple concept, no?

Yemen urges U.S. to shut Guantanamo to win good-will

Yemen has called on the United States to free all detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, saying the move would generate global good-will towards Washington.

Sure, just like all that good will that flowed our way during the Clinton years with the first attack on the World Trade Center, the Kenya bombings, Khobar Towers and the Cole bombing.

Can't you just feel the love?

About 100 Yemenis are being held at Guantanamo, making them the biggest group among the approximately 275 detainees there, according to Yemen's media.

"I hope that the United States releases all those held at Guantanamo, based on the principles of human rights, freedom and justice upon which your country was founded," President Ali Abdullah Saleh told President George W. Bush in a letter.

"I am sure that such an undertaking would draw a wide positive response from peoples and countries across the world," a senior Yemeni official quoted Saleh as saying in the letter.

Saleh said Yemen would study charges against the detainees and prosecute them under Yemeni laws.

If anything, this guy has a future in stand-up comedy.

Ah yes, the vaunted Yemeni legal system, so tough on terrorists.

Any observer of Yemen's political scene cannot help but notice that Yemen appears to be awash with al-Qaeda suspects. Mass trials follow mass arrests as hundreds of suspects flow through Yemen's legal system. Some are selected for execution and others for lengthy prison sentences, but many avail themselves of early release or periodic amnesties. The system seems designed to weed out those who present a direct threat to Yemen or its regime, while relieving U.S. pressure in the war on terrorism by offering a constant demonstration of activity. In the wings of this performance is the constant threat of an insurgency led by Yemen's powerful Islamist movement.

More Muslim Mayhem in Yemen

Terrorists never take a day off.

Car Bomb Explodes at Temple in Yemen

SAN'A, Yemen -- A car bomb exploded Monday at an ancient temple in northeast Yemen, killing eight people at the popular tourist site and wounding at least seven, police said.

Police in the province of Mareb said six of the dead were tourists, believed to be mostly from Spain. The other two were Yemenis, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Question. How long until Bush is blamed?

More from IHT:

Witnesses reported seeing a car enter a gate before exploding at the site of temple, which was built about 3,000 years ago at the time of the ancient Queen of Sheba.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but police in Mareb said they had received information last month about a possible al-Qaida attack. Authorities did not elaborate.

Al-Qaida has an active presence in Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, despite government efforts to fight the terror network. Al-Qaida was blamed for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden that killed 17 American sailors and the attack on a French oil tanker that killed one person two years later.

Gitmo Suspect Claims Torture

Yawn. Another day, another claim of torture at Club Gitmo.

A suspected Saudi terrorist told a military hearing that he was tortured into confessing that he was involved in the bombing of the USS Cole, according to a Pentagon transcript released Friday.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi national of Yemeni descent, said he made up stories that tied him to the 2000 Cole attack, which killed 17 U.S. sailors and nearly succeeded in sinking the $1 billion destroyer in Aden harbor, Yemen.

"From the time I was arrested five years ago, they have been torturing me. It happened during interviews. One time they tortured me one way, and another time they tortured me in a different way," al-Nashiri said, according to the transcript. "I just said those things to make the people happy. They were very happy when I told them those things."

One day it was this way, another day that way. Thanks for clearing that up, Abd. Maybe it was loud music, maybe it was a few belly slaps. Get the ACLU on the case.

According to U.S. intelligence, al-Nashiri is the suspected mastermind of the Cole bombing, and was al-Qaida's operations chief in the Arabian Peninsula until he was caught in 2002. Nashiri, 41, a Saudi national of Yemeni descent, was allegedly tasked by bin Laden to attack the Cole.

In the transcript, al-Nashiri says he met with bin Laden many times and received as much as a half million dollars from the terror leader. The money, he said, was for "personal expenses" including for marriage and business deals.

He said he took money to buy a boat and develop a fishing business, and bin Laden later told him it could be used for a bombing. Al-Nashiri said he ended the project, and was not involved when bin Laden later used it "as a military tool."

The poor terrorist just wanted to go fishing and he mysteriously winds up in Guantanamo Bay. Oh, the horrors.

USS Cole Mastermind Confesses

The left was quick to question the confession of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Let's see how long it takes them to dismiss this.

A Yemeni portrayed as an al-Qaida operative and a member of a terrorist family confessed to plotting the bombings of the USS Cole and two U.S. embassies in Africa, killing hundreds, according to a Pentagon transcript of a Guantanamo Bay hearing.

The transcript released Monday was the fourth from the hearings the military is holding in private for 14 "high-value" terror suspects who were kept in secret CIA prisons before they were sent to the U.S. facility in Cuba last fall.

Last week, Waleed bin Attash said he helped plan the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200, according to the transcript. He also said he helped organize the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in which suicide bombers steered an explosives-laden boat into the guided-missile destroyer, killing 17 sailors.

"I participated in the buying or purchasing of the explosives," bin Attash said when asked what his role was in the attacks. "I put together the plan for the operation a year and a half prior to the operation, buying the boat and recruiting the members that did the operation."

Also alleged to have been Osama bin Laden's bodyguard at one time, bin Attash is in his late 20s and is a Yemeni who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, authorities have said. Said to be an al-Qaida operational chief, bin Attash is known as Tawfiq bin Attash or Tawfiq Attash Khallada or simply Khallad. He was captured in 2003.

UPDATE: Transcript here.

UPDATE II: Allahpundit has more.