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Hai Do / AFP - Getty Images file
Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric jailed for life over the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is shown at a 1993 press conference.
On the eve of his inauguration, Egyptian president-elect Mohammed Morsi pledged before tens of thousands of Islamist followers on Friday to free the “Blind Sheik” jailed in the U.S. for a plot to bomb New York City landmarks.
Morsi, Egypt’s first Islamist and civilian president-elect, promised to work for the release of convicted terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman, the militant Egyptian cleric currently serving a life sentence for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Morsi, 60, also promised to free the detained Egyptian protesters facing military tribunals.
“I will do everything in my power to secure the freedom of detainees, including Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman,” Morsi said in his first speech to the nation in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the Telegraph reported.
New York-area politicians condemn Egypt's new leader over vow to free terrorist
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said Rahman isn’t going anywhere.
“President Morsi’s offensive statements are an insult to the memories of the victims of the World Trade Center bombing,” Schumer said in a prepared statement. “He is off to a very bad start. Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman is a terrorist who planned to killed innocent Americans, and rest assured he will stay right where he belongs – in jail for the rest of his life.”
Related: Post-revolution Egyptians to US: Stay out
Rahman is connected to a slew of terrorist attacks, including a plot to assassinate then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the slaughter of 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians in Luxor in 1997, and a plan to set off five bombs in 10 minutes to blow up the United Nations, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington Bridge and a federal building housing the FBI.
Rahman was arrested in June 1993, along with nine of his followers. In October 1995, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and was sentenced the next year to life in prison.
Morsi, a U.S.-trained engineer who initially was a back-up candidate for the Muslin Brotherhood, underscored several times in his speech that the people were the source of power and decision-making, not the institutions.
Big changes are in store for Egypt now that Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, once banned in Egypt, has won Egypt's first democratic presidential election. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
His spokesman, Yasser Ali, told the Associated Press the president-elect wants to stand with the thousands who have camped in the square for over a week to express concern about the power grabs.
"He wants to show unity with his people over issues of the transition, which is now ending," Ali said.
Many in the crowd were delighted by Morsi's speech, chanting "We love you Morsi" and "Oh marshal tell the truth, Morsi is your president, or not," referring to the head of the ruling military panel Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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If this ever happens it will happen while Oblumbed Oblamba is in office he will authorize this and will be supported and encourage as well by the criminal current soon to be disgraced ex Attorney General Eric Holder's leader of the Department of Justice. The House, the Senate, and all the other branches of our Goverment will be POWERLESS.
I do not think that even Obama is dumb enough to release Rahman. The only way he could do so would be to pardon the guy since he has already been convicted and sentenced to life without parole. If Obama ever even hinted that he were going to pardon a convicted terrorist he would be impeached so fast he would not know what happened.
Unfortunately, this rhetoric from Morsi is only the beginning of the Islamic terrorist supporting nonsense we can expect to be hearing from him. Egypt is at the edge of the abyss with Morsi as president and the Muslim Brotherhood in power, the only question is how long it will be before they fall in - my guess is not very long. The first aggressive move that Morsi and the MB make toward Israel it will all be over. Morsi is leading the Middle East towards another 1967 style war, only this time the Israelis may not be so quick to give Egypt back the Sinai, or even stop at the Red Sea for that matter.
I guess he pardoned Osama Bin Laden too, rigth Craig. President Obama's strongest suit is his relentless pursuit of terrorists. I had strongly disagreed with him when he made the statement that he would send our troops into Pakistan if he had the information that Bin Laden was in that country, but it turned out he did just that, successfully. You, Craig, would probably write the blind terrorist a pardon faster than Obama would. And as for Mitt, no one, not even Mitt, knows if he is going or coming. He has changed positions so often that he does not know what his last statement was, but whatever that last statement was he stands by it.
We need to get out of the Middle East and let the situation play out. They can figure it out for themselves. We have more pressing issues at home.
If Oblumbed Oblamba is allowed to claimed Executive
Privilege for protection and political paypack his fellow Chicago buddy and crony
the dirty scum criminal currently disgraceful and was soon to be ex
Attorney General Eric Holder's but the the Department of Justice, He is capable of
this and so much worse like our new tax/penalty/what f--kever healthcare BS
oblundercare. That is further bringing us to our bankruptcy which we are now
there becuz of oblunba.
Hey Craig,
We are almost Bankrupt because of The Bushes. A War of Weapons of Mass Confusion. Remember the last 3 out of 5 Presidents were Republicans. So brush up on your History and the facts before you come to a World Stage and let everyone know how illiterate you really are. Also your pitiful attempt at trying to disgrace the Presidents name no matter what Party he belongs to only enhances our enemies certainty of our own ignorance.
you have left out the Part where Patriots Shoot the Piece of @!$%# and take back the Republic in rebellion
Morsi needs to take a lesson from the 6 day war and get his head out of his fundamentalist ass before someone chops off his Presidency before it starts. Drones will reach Cairo from Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Afganistan, and Iraq, and the Isralis have already planted a bomb in his prayer blanket! What friggin fools.
Dude looks like Santa with a good bag of weed over his shoulder listening to good jazz. Put him in a round room and tell him the door is in the corner, if he finds it, he can be free.
lol, but that would grow old quickly. They should have just taken him out back and shot him.
Isn't Arab Spring wonderful?
Morsi,
Please give it your best shot in getting the blind Islamic radical freed. Here is a shoe in the head for just being who you are.
The article is good, the spelling is horrible.
Remember the Lockerbie Bomber? Just bury this cockroach so deep in a maximum security prison that the
Egyptians will never be able to get him out for any reason!
Well The Mask Is Off. Obama's pals are making thier intent clear. We all thought globalists were for a world economy but we were nieve. Globalism is the "progressive left" idea of aligning itself with Americas enemies around the world. As quoted - the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Hence Obama and the democrats are buddying up with the Black Panthers, Anti American Radicals, Muslims who have been converting in our prisons, Have ousted Mubarak, assisted the Muslim Brotherhood, encouraging illegals from everywhere and have been lax on those that have actively comitted terroism. They are so encouraged as to make the above statements. We had better get off our seats because they are well into their plans!!
“Out of these troubled times, our objective—a new world order—can emerge. Today, that new world is struggling to be born, a world quite different from the one we have known.” - George HW Bush - Dang liberal progressive leftist! Historically those identified as Progressives are actually far right wing and have nothing to do with the left wing thought or ideology. But hey, you must be Republican, and like the Muslims in the Middle East, you live a thousand years ago in some kind of set of superstitious beliefs where facts are avoided at all costs.
Is anyone surprised? Time to get the hell out of Egypt, especially if you are a woman. Their vision to rule the world with islam is moving forward.
Friends of ours are from Syria; their take on the Syrian war is that the president is bad, very bad, but the insurgency is fueled with people from iran and irag (I deliberately refuse to capitalize the names). They fear that if the rebels take over, Syria will become the next islamic state.
And all the dems and libs want to tell us this guy is moderate and the muslim brotherhood has changed.
The Muslim brotherhood is like a chameleon, presenting the illusion of change to protect itself and further its own agenda, total Islamic rule. Not in my neighborhood.
I hope our government doesn't "BendOver" to this guy and let this Terrorist go. But I would bet the farm that they will. And WHY are we still giving Egypt Billions??? Wake up Washington, Wake UP. Is there anyone in Washington with just a particle of a brain left??
Dream on Morsi. The sheik's not going anywhere!!!
Looks like we may see how those antiquated M60 tanks we sold Egypt hold up against the Merkava.
The institutions do not have the power as long as you follow Islam. Riiiight.
Ban religion
you are the leader of egypt not america so please take a hike, but take it in the bronx
I understand America's need to be Politically Correct. Maybe once in a while we could strap one of these fanatics to a Cruise Missile and send him home.
Egypt has taken a very dangerous step in electing an Engineer to run the country....he has no experience and nothing other than religious fever to forward his ideas upon the people. It won't last long, there will be a civil war before they let him return to the "Stoneage". Trouble with that is it will suck in other countries and make the Middle East situations all the more dire. Pray that he does not take charge of the military in Egypt, that will get Isreal on a war footing overnight. If our president even hints at getting on board with this regime....we best watch out borders folks.
Nothing will happen till after the election. If Romney wins, not a chance. If Obama wins, he might get a 1st class tickets.
I got the easy answer... Cut off all aid to Egypt immediately. Let's not arm the revolutionaries. This means really, really bad things given that this has been the country that has kept Middle East somewhat on the track to sanity. The Muslim Brotherhood meant to capitalize in a way that Al-Queda never could and they have. This world is now in great peril from the Christians on one side and the Muslims on the other.
NUKE Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and Libya...Iraq, Syria, Yemen...then build more Nukes and go after Venezuela, Bolivia ...North Korea, Russia and Those @!$%#in Chineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese ....there thats a good start!