Surprise: Former 'enemy combatant' admits helping Al-Qaeda

by Robert Spencer

The ACLU was enraged that he was being held unjustly. Now it turns out, by his own surprise admission, that he was an al-Qaeda op all along.

"Former 'enemy combatant' admits helping Al-Qaeda," from AFP, May 2 (thanks to James):

PEORIA, Illinois (AFP) -- Al-Qaeda sleeper agent Ali al-Marri, who was held by the United States without trial for more than five years as an “enemy combatant,” pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to provide material support to terrorism.

“Without a doubt, this case is a grim reminder of the seriousness of the threat we as a nation still face,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

“But it also reflects what we can achieve when we have faith in our criminal justice system and are unwavering in our commitment to the values upon which the nation was founded and the rule of law.”

Marri, who was the last “enemy combatant” held on U.S. soil, faces a maximum of 15 years in jail after reaching a deal with prosecutors to drop a second charge in exchange for the guilty plea. He will be sentenced on July 30.

Marri admitted to attending several terrorist training camps in Pakistan from 1998 to 2001, according to an agreed statement of fact.

While there, he said he met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, considered the architect of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Marri entered the United States on September 10, 2001 with his wife and children ostensibly to study at an Illinois university.

The next day Al-Qaeda launched its attacks, and Marri continued to work for the terrorist organization by researching poisons such as cyanide and the location of dams, waterways and tunnels....