Iraq: Obama’s Last Prisoner

What should be done with the prisoner Ali Musa Daqduq? American soldiers will be leaving Iraq at the end of December, so there are only a few weeks left to determine the future of the last prisoner in Iraq.

On Jan. 20, 2007, in the Shiite city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, five American-made military vehicles drove up to a meeting place between the American and Iraqi armies. Twelve people wearing American uniforms jumped out and opened fire. One soldier was killed on the spot; four others were abducted, tortured and executed.

Ali Musa Daqduq, a Lebanese member of Hezbollah, was the brains behind the operation. He was arrested and interrogated by the Americans in March 2007 and provided a wealth of information on Iran’s role in supporting the anti-American resistance in Iraq.

Every other American-held prisoner has already been transferred to Iraqi forces. The U.S. government, however, fears that Nouri al Maliki’s Shiite government would free this particular prisoner, who has American blood on his hands. Republicans, who accuse Obama of avoiding passing judgment on this weighty prisoner, predict that “it appears more likely that Ali Musa Daqduq will instead be transferred to Iran, to a hero’s welcome.”

Daqduq has appeared as a major issue in the campaigns for the coming American elections, as Republicans accuse Obama of putting the security of the United States at risk by pulling out of Iraq too soon and proving incapable of reaching an agreement which would have allowed American troops to maintain some military bases on Iraqi soil.

Is it better for Americans to run the risk of letting Daqduq walk free, or should they bring him back with them to be judged in a civil or military court in the States? Or should they simply transfer him to Guantanamo?

Obama would be reluctant to send him to the Cuban prison which he still has not been able to close, to the frustration of American human rights organizations.

There is no easy solution to the Daqduq problem. So, what will the president of the United States decide?