Thousands Arrested, Few Convicted in U.S. Terror War
/The United States has arrested thousands of
people on terror charges since Sept. 11, 2001, holding some for years
without charge, but has seen one high-profile case after another
collapse. Critics say the government is paying for hasty, politically
motivated accusations it cannot prove, while backers argue that the
U.S. legal system is simply unsuited for the war on terror. In the most
recent collapse, the military dropped spy charges on Wednesday against
Syrian-American airman Ahmad al Halabi, who had faced the death penalty
on accusations of aiding and abetting the enemy through espionage at
the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Justice Department
also said on Wednesday it had agreed to free U.S.-Saudi "enemy
combatant" Yaser Esam Hamdi and return him to Saudi Arabia after
holding him without charges -- for long stretches incommunicado -- for
more than two years. [more 
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]- Global lawyers group accuses US of unlawfully detaining hundreds [more ]
