By BILL ROGGIO May 16, 2011This is one bad dude -- read it all
The US Department of Justice is planning to prosecute Ali Mussa Daqduq, a dangerous Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian Qods Force agent who is responsible for organizing the Shia terror groups in Iraq and the kidnapping and murder of US soldiers.
The proposed prosecution was disclosed in a letter written by five US senators to US Attorney General Eric Holder, asking the Justice Department to clarify the status of Daqduq and inquiring why Daqduq will not be transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The letter, which was signed by US Senators Charles Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Jeff Sessions, John Cornyn, and Tom Coburn, was sent to the Department of Justice this evening. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Long War Journal [see Threat Matrix report, Text of letter to the Department of Justice on Ali Mussa Daqduq].
"We are deeply concerned that the Administration and the Department of Justice are moving forward with plans to prosecute Ali Mussa Daqduq in federal court for clear violations of the laws of war that occurred in Iraq," the senators said.
The senators believe that Daqduq should be prosecuted by a military commission and not in a federal court as "his actions clearly defy the laws of war." The senators are also concerned that Daqduq would eventually be freed if transferred to the Iraqi government.
"Moreover, we are concerned that if Daqduq is left in the custody of the Iraqi government, AAH [the Asaib al Haq or League of the Righteous] will successfully negotiate his release," the letter continued. "There is little doubt that Daqduq will return to the battlefield and resume his terrorist activities against the United States and our interests."
Daqduq is perhaps the most dangerous of the Shia terror commanders captured by US forces in Iraq since 2003. Daqduq has a pedigree with Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran's proxy militia and terror group that is based in Lebanon. At the time of his capture in March 2007, he was a 24-year veteran of Hezbollah. He has commanded both a Hezbollah special operations unit and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's security detail.
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