Word: omar
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...brothers John and Joseph Gambino, two of New York's biggest Mafia leaders. The case ended in a mistrial, which threw Fitzgerald into a funk, but his outlook brightened in 1994 when the Gambinos pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. That same year U.S. Attorney White picked Fitzgerald to prosecute Omar Abdel Rahman, the "Blind Sheik," for plotting with nine associates to blow up New York City landmarks. Rahman was sentenced to life in prison, and Fitzgerald developed a reputation as one of the nation's best prosecutors. "He was the full package," White recalls, "an incredible investigator ... and superb trial...
...separate interview, a clearly "harder" Taliban reverses Meerza's statistics. Mullah Rahmatullah says "95% are supporting [Mullah Omar, the fugitive founder of the Taliban]; 5% are soft Taliban and will not fight." Rahmatullah commands about 10 men, many of whom live with their families in Pakistan. "We have several training camps there and we receive everything from them: money, equipment, weapons. In Baluchistan, we have three camps of Taliban and there are other places as well." He complains, "Religious people no longer have power in Afghanistan. This is not the case in Pakistan...
...Meanwhile, Mullah Noor Ahmad, a Taliban commander of 15 fighters and an admirer of Mullah Omar from the beginning, makes no excuses for the Taliban's tactics, including suicide attacks. "They have proven very useful," he says. "Very effective... Any method that kills the enemy is acceptable. This allows us to spend money, for example, to fight face to face or from a distance, or even fight with the pen. Anything in order to win the war. And if I am killed, I will go to paradise." He adds, "The Taliban will hit anyone who is working with the coalition...
...judge didn't buy this argument, and neither did the three-judge panel to which the government appealed. Omar was a U.S. citizen, the panel decided, and no matter their label, the soldiers holding him worked for the Pentagon. Besides, Omar had never been charged or convicted, so there were no rulings of a non-American authority to trip over. The U.S. courts could hear the case...
...might the Justices react to claims that the courts get aced out because the Iraq war is an international enterprise? With Omar's and Munaf's cases probably headed for the high court, you can bet we'll find out soon. Keep in mind too that the Administration has more at stake here than its power. By steering these types of cases to Iraqi courts, it can help those courts gain legitimacy. The stronger its judiciary, the better Iraq's chances of surviving as a nation and the sooner the U.S.--to mix slogans from two unpopular wars--can stand...