The long wait for American justice for the murder of Robert Stethem will have to go longer, it seems. Lebanese officials released Stethem's torturer and murderer from their custody yesterday, noting the lack of extradition between Lebanon and the US:

U.S. officials yesterday said the killer of a U.S. Navy diver had been released from "temporary custody" in Lebanon but refused to rule out bringing him to the United States by force. ...

Hamadi, a member of the Hezbollah guerrilla group, was taken into custody upon returning to Lebanon after his release from a German prison Thursday. He had served 18 years for hijacking a TWA plane to Beirut and fatally shooting Petty Officer 2nd Class Stethem, who was 23 when he was killed.

"What I can assure anybody who's listening, including Mr. Hamadi, is that we will track him down, we will find him, and we will bring him to justice in the United States for what he's done," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "We will make every effort, working with the Lebanese authorities or whomever else, to see that he faces trial for the murder of Mr. Stethem," he said.

We made "every effort" with Mahmoud Abbas, the terrorist who pulled the trigger and killed Leon Klinghoffer during the Achile Lauro terrorist hijacking. He died in US custody from natural causes, but Aimal Khan Kasi, who shot five CIA employees in the Langley office parking lot died by an American execution order. He got captured when the FBI raided his Pakistan camp in 1997 and dragged him back to the US for trial.

Hamadi may believe that his Hizbollah contacts can hide him from the US, and he may be right in the short run. But this is a different America than the one Hamadi attacked in 1985 through his hijacking and murder. We have much longer memories now, and a much stronger will to ensure that our enemies taste defeat as an end result of their terrorist actions. This may not be lost on Hizbollah, which may not overflow with enthusiasm when it comes to sheltering Hamadi. After all, they also have targets on their backs, and extra heat from the US doesn't exactly help them out too much. The US would love to have a casus belli against the Iranian-backed terrorist group in order to pressure both Syria and Iran to reform or risk being the next target of the war on Islamofascist terror. If Hamadi can provide that, so much the better.

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» Terrorist freed, in U.S. crosshairs from Small Town Veteran
(See my previous post here.)Diver's killer set free in LebanonNicholas Kralev, The Washington Times, December 22, 2005 U.S. officials yesterday said the killer of a U.S. Navy diver had been released from temporary custody in Lebanon but refused to rule [Read More]

Tracked on December 22, 2005 8:15 PM

» Terrorist freed, in U.S. crosshairs from Small Town Veteran
(See my previous post here.)Diver's killer set free in LebanonNicholas Kralev, The Washington Times, December 22, 2005 U.S. officials yesterday said the killer of a U.S. Navy diver had been released from temporary custody in Lebanon but refused to rule [Read More]

Tracked on December 22, 2005 9:35 PM