A year ago, the Conference of Presidents which speaks for America's major Jewish groups wrote an emphatic letter to Sec of State Antony Blinken. He didn't answer. This week, the COP renewed its call, this time to the Trump Administration. It concerns Jordan, justice, the… https://t.co/U7sOYMRbhApic.twitter.com/SenocSHePC
Now that we have a new-ish administration, I wonder what appetite it may have for bringing justice to a notorious most wanted terrorist who is hiding in plain sight in Jordan?
See this old post or this one for details but, trust me, this is exactly the kind of business that ought to interest the Trump administration, or so you would think.
Al-Tamimi murdered U.S. citizens, so she has an ass-kicking coming to her from the fellow citizens of those victims.
Will Trump finally act on her now that he has a second chance to run our foreign affairs with his customary heavy hand? No one would deserve that more.
You may be familiar with this diplomatic conflict between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Jordan. The bottom line is that we have a wanted fugitive by the name of Ahlam Ahmad Al-Tamini, whom the Department of Justice would like to prosecute for "Conspiring to Use and Using a Weapon of Mass Destruction Against a United States National Outside the United States Resulting in Death and Aiding and Abetting and Causing an Act to be Done." Al-Tamini lives very openly in Jordan, but the authorities there refuse to render her to the U.S. for trial.
Jordan's stated reason for not extraditing Al-Tamini is that her prosecution in the U.S. would violate the old Anglo-Saxon principle of double jeopardy, since Al-Tamini was once before convicted and imprisoned in Israel for the same bombing that gives rise to the U.S. charges. That excuse is complete rubbish. The U.S. charges are for the separate offense of murdering a U.S. citizen overseas, and the Justice Department appears to be confident they can prosecute her without implicating double jeopardy.
In any case, the idea that the King of Jordan won't extradite Al-Tamini because of some tender concern for English common law traditions is too ridiculous for words. He can and will act like a king when he wants to, and good for him.
Moreover, Al-Tamini's release from prison in Israel, although it is sometimes confused with her being pardoned by Israel, was obtained by means of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. "Exchange" does not begin to describe that one-sided affair in which Israel gave in to political/emotional coercion by the terrorist group HAMAS. But, really, what else could they do? That small country is like an extended family, so to end the five year-long torment of one Israeli solider was worth releasing over a thousand prisoners.
All monarchies strike me as farcical, but the legitimacy of the Hussein dynasty of Jordan is even thinner than most. Why the Palestinian native population tolerates a British-imposed royal family that originated from elsewhere, I have never understood. (Of course, at least one Palestinian nationalist did not tolerate it.) Does the USG really need to placate them?
Well then, why doesn't the USG bring enough pain to Jordan to overcome its reluctance to extradite Al-Tamini? Presumably, the Biden administration (like its predecessor) must see some larger foreign policy interest involved that makes it willing to tolerate the dissonance of naming a top-wanted fugitive that it will not make a serious effort to capture.
I am realistic about the chances of a petition stirring up any action in either the Administration or Congress, but I'm signing it anyway. Al-Tamini has punishment coming to her from the fellow citizens of one of her victims, and I hope she gets it.
President Trump held a White House meeting with the King of Jordan today, and there is no indication that he brought up the matter of Jordan's refusal to extradite the mastermind of the 2001 Sbarro restaurant bombing in Jerusalem, Ahlam Ahmad Al-Tamimi, to the United States to face charges for the murder of U.S. citizens.
Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
“Al-Tamimi is an unrepentant terrorist who admitted to her role in a deadly terrorist bombing that injured and killed numerous innocent victims. Two Americans were killed and four injured. The charges unsealed today serve as a reminder that when terrorists target Americans anywhere in the world, we will never forget – and we will continue to seek to ensure that they are held accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord. “I want to thank the many dedicated agents and prosecutors who have worked on this investigation.”
“We have never forgotten the American and non-American victims of this awful terrorist attack,” said U.S. Attorney Phillips. “We will continue to remain vigilant until Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi is brought to justice.”
“Al-Tamimi is a terrorist who participated in an attack that killed United States citizens,” said Assistant Director in Charge Vale. “The bombing that she planned and assisted in carrying out on innocent people, including children, furthered the mission of a designated terrorist organization. The FBI continues to work with our international partners to combat terrorists like Al-Tamimi and hold them accountable.”
So, to recap the DOJ and FBI, we will never forget, and have never forgotten, that awful terrorist attack, and we will remain vigilant to hold Al-Tamimi accountable and bring her to justice. But evidently we will not do any of that today.
Jordan's stated reason for refusing to render Al-Tamimi is that the extradition treaty wasn't properly ratified by the Jordanian Parliament, but that is a bogus legal excuse given that Jordan has extradited another Jordanian citizen to the U.S., proving that they will do so when they are willing.
The reward is for up to $5 million and it's offered by the U.S. State Department for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a Jordanian citizen, Ahlam Ahmad Al-Tamimi, for her leading role in the 2001 Sbarro restaurant bombing in Jerusalem, in which two of the victims were U.S. citizens. The U.S. charges against Al-Tamimi were unsealed on March 14, 2017.
A Jordanian citizen, Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi, also known as “Khalti” and “Halati,” is a convicted terrorist operative for HAMAS.
On August 9, 2001, al-Tamimi transported a bomb and a HAMAS suicide bomber to a crowded Jerusalem Sbarro pizzeria, where the bomber detonated the explosives, killing 15 people, including seven children. Two American citizens were killed in the attack – Judith Shoshana Greenbaum, a pregnant 31-year-old school teacher from New Jersey, and Malka Chana Roth, a 15-year-old. Over 120 others were injured, including four Americans. HAMAS claimed responsibility for the bombing.
In 2003, al-Tamimi pleaded guilty in an Israeli court to participating in the attack and was sentenced to 16 life terms in Israel for assisting the bomber. She was released in October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel. On March 14, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a criminal complaint and an arrest warrant for al-Tamimi, charging her under U.S. law with “conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against U.S. nationals outside the U.S., resulting in death.” The FBI also added al-Tamimi to its list of most wanted terrorists and considers her to be “armed and dangerous.”
A former student working part time as a television journalist, al-Tamimi drove the bomber to the target after pledging to carry out attacks on behalf of the military wing of HAMAS, according to the FBI. Al-Tamimi, who planned and engineered the Sbarro attack, chose the location because it was a busy restaurant. To reduce suspicion, she and the suicide bomber dressed as Israelis, and she personally transported the bomb, concealed inside a guitar case, from a West Bank town into Jerusalem. Al-Tamimi also admitted to detonating a small IED in a Jerusalem grocery store a few weeks prior to the attack as part of a test run.
So, we want Jordan to turn over Al-Tamimi, but Jordan refuses. You might think that would make for an awkward U.S.-Jordan press conference this week (see: Remarks at Memorandum of Understanding Signing and Press Conference) but no, the subject of murdered U.S. citizens did not come up.
Instead, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi talked about our seven decades of mutual cooperation on countering terrorism and such, and he also said thanks for the latest MOU under which the U.S. will offer $1.7 billion to his Kingdom over the next five years.
Your Excellency [SecState Rex Tillerson], we highly value your continuous support for Jordan. We value the strong partnership and friendship ties between the two countries, and we look forward to continuing to cooperate together to serve our mutual interests and to accomplish peace, security, and stability in the region.
Before signing the MOU, I discussed with His Excellency the Secretary of State developments in the region, particularly with respect to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Syria, and our common fight against terrorism and the strength of our relations ... We’ll continue to work together in pursuit of peace and stability. We will remain partners in the fight against terrorism until we destroy this evil.
SecState Tillerson's remarks included this:
I also want to highlight Jordan’s partnership and commitment to combating terrorism and violent extremism. His Majesty King Abdullah has long been a regional and global leader and a voice against terrorism, and is critical to our counterterrorism efforts.
Although he's critical to our counterterrorism effort, His Majesty apparently draws the line at turning over one of the Al-Tamimi family, even if it means he could add another $5 million to the pile of U.S. assistance.
