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 ]

• Global lawyers group accuses US of unlawfully detaining hundreds [more ]