Britain frees second AQ terrorist on bail

Maybe it’s like Frito-Lay potato chips; Britain can’t just free one terrorist.  The UK allowed “U”, an Algerian suspected of masterminding multiple al-Qaeda plots, to go free on bail after being held for seven years, the second such terrorist released in a month.  Western agencies had tracked “U” well before 9/11, and his attempt to pass through Britain on a false passport in 2001 gave them the opportunity to keep him locked up:

An Algerian accused by Britain of links to Osama bin Laden and bomb plots in the United States and France has been freed on bail after more than seven years in prison, a spokeswoman for a British tribunal said on Thursday.

The man, who under British legal restrictions can be identified only as “U,” is the second senior militant suspect to be freed since mid-June. …

Ahmed Ressam, convicted of a plot to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium, was carrying U’s phone number on him when he was arrested with 60 kg (130 lb) of explosives on the Canadian-U.S. border on December 14, 1999.

The United States sought U’s extradition from Britain but withdrew the request in 2005 after Ressam ceased cooperating with prosecutors building a case against U.

Germany and France described U as the man who incited a December 2000 plot to bomb a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg. The two countries convicted four and 10 men, respectively, in connection with that conspiracy.

Britain wanted to deport U, but the courts have dragged their heels on that question for years.  Instead, the man whom intel officials say trained AQ terrorists in Afghanistan before 9/11 now can relax in the English countryside.  The court declined to discuss the conditions of his bail, but the first detainee released has to remain in his home for 22 hours a day and cannot use cell phones or the Internet.  That leaves open plenty of possibilities for both Abu Qatada and U to connect with their networks once again through intermediaries and pick up where they left off in the war.

Once again, this points out the limitations in fighting terrorism in a strict law-enforcement model.  No one doubts that law enforcement has to be part of this fight, but when governments have to release known terrorists who traveled on false passports, then something has gone off the rails.  He should have been deported at the least, and within days, not years.  Releasing a foreign terrorist on bail after seven years of inaction when he presented false credentials is the height of politically-correct lunacy.

Nations have the right to defend themselves.  They are not required to show hospitality to known terrorists using phony identities.  Unfortunately, Britain’s action puts more than the UK at risk.