Germans Thumb Their Noses at Americans Over Terrorist Release

by Jim Kouri, CPP When Senator John Kerry ran for President in 2004, many of his critics claimed that if elected he would take a European approach to fighting the war on terrorism. And a recent case may shed some light on that "European approach." The German government secretly released a member of the terrorist group Hezbullah after he served a mere 19 years of a life sentence for murdering a US Navy diver. In spite of strong objections by American diplomats, Germany disregarded the Bush Administration's pleas that the killer either be extradited to the US or remain behind bars in Germany. German officials claim that there was no link between terrorist Mohammad Ali Hammadi being set free and the release of a German national who was held hostage by terrorists in Iraq. In a news conference held at the German Justice Ministry, spokeperson Eva Schmierer simply said, "He served his term." The ruthless terrorist, who was convicted of killing Robert Dean Stethem in Beirut during the 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight and sentenced to life in prison, was quietly transported to Lebanon last week. Critics of this release accuse the German government of being disingenuous during the Justice Ministry news conference. To them it's simple -- serving 19 years in prison for a vicious murder is not life imprisonment. Ms Schmierer also said her ministry had never received a formal extradition request from Washington, but the US State Department says the German government was well aware the Americans would have liked Hammadi extradited upon release to the US, where he is already under indictment for the career sailor's murder. The Germans claim that under their laws, the brutal terrorist could not have been extradited to the United States for his crimes since he had already been convicted and punished. The Hezbullah member was convicted, after a lengthy trial, of all charges which included murder, air piracy and the possession of explosives. The President Ronald Reagan's White House did submit an extradition request for Hammadi to the West German government in 1987. However, the West German government at that time refused to extradite on the grounds that he faced the death penalty. West Germany and now the unified Germany do not employ capital punishment for even the most heinous of crimes. American authorities had wanted Hammadi to remain behind bars for the murder of Stethem, whose bruised and beaten corpse was thrown out of the TWA plane by the hijackers after they had killed him execution style. The act was televised throughout the world and Americans were shocked by this display of ruthless disregard for human life. An intelligence officer told this writer that he believes this release will cool relations between Germany and the US even further. Germany is widely regarded as an ally in the war on terrorism, but has repeatedly opposed the US on a number of policy issues regarding terrorism. The Germans appear in lockstep as they repeatedly deny any connection between the release of the Hezbullah member and the release of a hostage in Iraq, Susanne Osthoff, an archaelogist who was abducted by Islamic terrorists. However, many believe that's the reason Germany released Hammadi and that there was a secret deal for a prisoner exchange. A Scottish journalist, Allan Hall, claims that a senior German intelligence officer visited Damascus earlier this month but did not disclose the purpose of the trip. Syria is a key backer of Hezbullah. Hopefully the United States government will back up their words with action in this miscarriage of justice. The US State Department claims that Hammadi will be the focus of a massive manhunt in order to bring him to the US and try him American-style. Hammadi, now in his late 30s, was captured in 1987 and given a life sentence in two years later. He still has many years ahead of him and is expected to rejoin his terrorist comrades thanks to the German government who believe serving 19 years is just punishment for killing a young American during the hijacking of a commercial plane. While recent news stories claim America will hunt for Hammadi and bring him to justice, that may entail butting heads with the Lebanese goverment or worse -- butting heads with Hezbullah. Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a staff writer for New Media Alliance (thenma.org), and he's a columnist for TheConservativeVoice.Com, AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. If you wish to sign up for his intelligence reports, write to JimKouriReports@aol.com. Kouri's own website is located at http://jimkouri.us