Iraq Frees Hezbollah Terrorist Accused of Killing US Soldier

Just as billions in US aid to the Palestinian Arabs has not made them view the US any more favorably, freeing Iraq from the rule of Saddam Hussein has not created much of a sense of gratitude from the Iraqis either.

Ya Libnan is reporting that

Iraq frees Hezbollah prisoner accused of killing US soldier:An Iraqi court on Monday declared a Hezbollah commander accused of killing U.S. solders in Iraq in 2007 not guilty for lack of evidence and ruled that he be set free.


The case of Ali Mussa Daqduq has been a thorn in diplomatic relations between Baghdad and Washington since the American military pullout last December.

U.S. terror experts have described Daqduq as among “the worst of the worst” militants who would remain a severe threat to Americans if freed.

He is a Lebanese commander for Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group linked to numerous deadly attacks. U.S. officials say he trained Shiite militias in Iraq and helped plot the 2007 killing of four American soldiers in the holy city of Karbala, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad.

Daqduq was captured late 2007 and held in U.S. custody in Iraq as officials tried to decide where to charge him. When the American military left Iraq late in December, U.S. officials were forced to hand over Daqduq to Iraqi authorities — despite fears in Washington that he would be quietly freed by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.

The fears were apparently justified: sure enough, the judge has decided that regardless of what the US government says, there is insufficient evidence to hold Daqduq. Fortunately, he was not immediately freed because the verdict is automatically appealed

There is always the possibility that the US government just failed to make its case.
It is also possible that sectarian interests within Iraq trump what the US has sacrificed to free them from Saddam Hussein.

Technorati Tag: Iraq and Hezbollah.