By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
US Senator Jeff Sessions (R) issued a written statement following the news that the government of Iraq had released Ali Mussa Daqduq. Ali Mussa Daqduq is accused of being a Hezbollah agent responsible for attacks on Americans, notably the slayings of five American soldiers including Private Johnathon Millican from Locust Fork, Alabama.
Sen. Sessions said, “The release of the terrorist Ali Mussa Daqduq, after he was previously held in U.S. custody, stems from a feckless prisoner policy that I have warned about for years. Daqduq murdered five American military heroes, including Private Johnathan Millican of Locust Fork, Alabama, who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his gallantry in this attack. But, because President Obama made an irresponsible campaign pledge to close the military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay and continues to refuse to bring any new terrorist detainees to the facility, the Administration transferred Daqduq into Iraqi custody—with full knowledge that he was eventually going to be released. I warned of this at the time of the transfer. The obvious course would have been to transfer Daqduq to Guantánamo Bay for detention and trial for his actions, which violated the rules of war.”
Sen. Sessions had warned that this could happen when the US transferred Ali Mussa Daqduq from American custody to Iraqi custody. “Mr. President, it was reported today that Iraq has denied the request of the United States to extradite senior Hezbollah field commander and confessed terrorist Ali Mussa Daqduq, who was recently ordered released by the Iraqi court after our government turned him over to Iraqi custody when our troops left the country.”
Sessions had favored transferring Daqduq to Guantanamo Bay. Sessions said, “The Administration had years to transfer Daqduq to our detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, but because the President seemed to lack the political will to do so—I think because of campaign promises he improvidently made—one of the most dangerous, reprehensible terrorists ever in our custody will likely be allowed to go free. We should never have been in this position.”
Sen. Sessions said, “Once the military determined he was no longer of use for intelligence purposes when he was in Iraq, he should have been brought to Guantanamo Bay. That was the perfect place for him to be detained. This should have been an open-and-shut case. But President Obama and Attorney General Holder have obstinately clung to the failed law enforcement approach to counter terrorism. They just have. It has been a dispute all the way through the campaign and since they took office. They believe in treating foreign enemy combatants as normal criminal defendants entitled to U.S. constitutional protections and civilian trials. This is contrary to history and contrary to the laws of war. It is contrary to our treaty obligations. Other nations don’t do this.”
Sen. Jeff Sessions is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The United States believes that Daqduq was the mastermind of a raid on a U.S. military base in Karbala in 2007 which killed and tortured five Americans, including Pvt. Millican. The US believes that Daqduq was working with Iranians to train militias to attack U.S. forces.
