Mikulski Urges Sec. Rice to Honor Slain Maryland Serviceman, Extradite Convicted Killer

HAT TIP TO: MICHAEL YON for alerting us in regards to Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) efforts to extradite of convicted killer Mohammed Ali Hamadi to the United States.

Although I am not always in agreement with Senator Mikulski, it appears that she is right on the button with this endeavor. The two good senators, Mikulski and DeMint sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, on January 10, 2006, urging Sec Rice to formally request that the Government of Lebanon immediately arrest and extradite the cold-blooded murder and career terrorist, Mohammed Ali Hamadi, to the United States. Mohammed Ali Hamadi has sought refuge in Lebanon since being released from German custody ....... Mohammed Ali Hamadi brutally murdered a United States Navy diver, Robert Dean Stethem ( in 1985 )..... because he was an American serviceman. Mohammed Ali Hamadi was captured in 1987 and sentenced to life imprisonment (with the possibility of parole in 15 years) in 1989.

Source: Mikulski and DeMint's letter to Sec. Rice

When Mohammed Ali Hamadi was originally released in December, The Bosun Locker, along with several other bloggers and media outlets alerted the public to the story. Since then the story has slipped from the mainstream media and almost been forgotten if it were not for Michael Yon. I would like to commend Michael for bring it back to the forefront and also commend Senators Mikulski and DeMint for their efforts in getting Hamadi rearrested and extradited to the United States.

Here is the background of Hamadi's release and an interesting timeline: On November 25, 2005, Susanne Osthoff and her driver were take hostage in Iraq's Sunni Triangle. On November 30th, 2005, German leader, Merkel, stamped her mark on German foreign policy and vowed that her government will "not let ourselves be blackmailed" by militants who kidnapped Osthoff and her driver. It was odd that Merkel would publicly make such a big fuss and also indicate her solidarity to the United States during that same speech.

Then, a few days later (about the December 15th, the exact date was not clear) Germany quietly released Hezbollah member, Mohammed Ali Hamadi, jailed for life for the murder of a US Navy diver, disregarding Washington's desire that he be extradited or remain behind bars. Eva Schmeirer, a spokeswoman for Germany's Justice Ministry (perhaps a misnomer) released a statement that, "He served his term...." The German government said there was no link between Mohammad Ali Hamadi's release and that of German hostage, Osthoff, who was released on December 18th.

Source: The Scotsman and International Herald Tribune.

A good terrorism reference link at The Scotsman that may provide additional topics of interest is: International terrorism

Now for some information that the mainstream media has so far refused to explore and that our legistative branch may want to look into:

Mohammed Ali Hamadi's brother, Abbas Hamadi, was arrested in Germany in 1987 and charged with helping to kidnap two German businessmen in a bid to use them as bargaining chips for Mohammed Hamadi's freedom. He was also a suspect in the 1985 terrorist act. Abbas was released in 1993 after serving half of his sentence. At the time, German news media reported, that he was let go as part of a deal between the German government and Hezbollah to release two other Germans held hostage in Lebanon. But, German officials denied that assertion just like they deny it today.

Source: Security Watch

Mohammed Ali Hamadi's release in December sounds eerily similar to the release of his brother, Abbas', release in 1993. However, only Merkel, German intelligence, Hamadi, and Hezbollah know for sure what happened and obviously none of them are talking about it.

I also find it odd that when Osthoff was released, she issued a press release through Al-Jazeera praising her captors:

"They said we don't want money ... Maybe we want from Germany ... hospitals and schools in the Sunni triangle [area northwest of Baghdad], and they would like to get money in the form of humanitarian aid ... She described her captors as "poor people" and said that she "cannot blame them for kidnapping her, as they cannot enter [Baghdad's heavily fortified] Green Zone to kidnap Americans ... Al-Jazeera went on to say that Osthoff and Shalid al-Shimani, her Iraqi driver, were seized on 25 November in the northwestern Nineveh province of Iraq. She was freed on 18 December, as was her driver."

Source: Al-Jazeera

Now according the United Press International, Osthoff may also be tied to Federal Intelligence Service of Germany Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). That may explain why her release and Hamadi's release were so quick. According to UPI, there may have been a ransom paid to gain the release of Osthoff. If Merkel and her German government have sold their souls to Hezbollah or another terrorist organization, so to speak, as did some in the German business community and government officials did in the Oil for Food scandal in Saddam's Iraq, there will undoubtedly be more problems to deal with in the future. Of course, this is speculation and based on an unsubstantiated article in United Press International and Spacewar.com on January 9th, Middle East Times on January 10th, and now entering the blogosphere for debate:

Susanne Osthoff, the German archeologist kidnapped by Iraqi gunmen on Nov. 25 and released before Christmas was connected with BND, and had helped arrange a meeting with a top member of the terrorist organization al-Qaida, possibly Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi himself, according to well informed German sources Sunday. Source: UPI International Intelligence, Corridors of Power: The lady was a spy, By ROLAND FLAMINI, UPI Chief International Correspondent.

Let get back on track with the career terrorist, Hamadi, and leave Osthoff until more information is available.

While discussing the Hamadi brothers we also need to also look at the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its main players, Imad Fayez Mugniyah. Mugniyah has apparently been active on the terrorism circuit for the past 20 years. According to Laura Mansfield's Notebook, America's Truth Forum, there appears to be striking similarities between the terrorism in the past 20 years at the hands of Mugniyah and the practices of the present-day terrorist activities in Iraq. Mugniyah has been tied to kidnappings and bombings throughout the world over the past two decades, including the following:

• April 18, 1983 bombing of the United States embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people including 17 Americans
• October 23, 1983 simultaneous truck bombings against the French paratroopers and US Marine killing 58 French soldiers and 241 Marines.
• September 20, 1984, he attacked the US embassy annex building.
• Linked to the numerous kidnappings of Westerners in Beirut through the 1980s –
  some were killed, some by beheading, and a few were eventually released
• March 17, 1992 bombings of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires Argentina, which killed 29
• July 1994 bombing of the AMIA cultural building in in Buenos Aires Argentina, killing 86 people
• Orchestrated the 2000 abductions of three Israeli soldiers in the southern part of Lebanon
• Abduction of Israeli Colonel Elchanan Tenenbaum. Source: Laura Mansfield

You may also want to read an interesting two-part series about Hezbollah, "In the Party of God," written by New Yorker Reporter at Large, Jeffrey Goldsberg, published in the New Yorker in October 2002:

• Part 1 - Are terrorists in Lebanon preparing for a larger war?
• Part 2 - Hezbollah sets up operations in South America and the United States

Technorati tags: International Terrorism, hostage release, United States, Hamadi, Lebanon, extradition, Germany, air piracy, murder, Mikulski, Michael Yon, DeMint, terrorists, Osthoff, Merkel, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, Opinion