President Obama is meeting Friday afternoon with the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole -- but some invited guests say they worry that the gesture is window-dressing, since the administration has suspended trials of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and a military judge on Thursday dropped charges against a suspect in the 2000 Cole bombing.
The military charges against suspected Al Qaeda bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri marked the last active war crimes case at Guantanamo Bay. New charges can still be brought against al-Nashiri, and he will remain in prison for the time being.
But at least two Cole families complained to FOX News that Obama should have met with them first, to hear them out, before a final decision was reached on the charges.
"We've already waited eight years for justice. Justice delayed is justice denied," said retired Navy Cmdr. Kirk S. Lippold, the commanding officer of the Cole when it was bombed in Yemen.
Lippold expressed disappointment that he learned from FOX News, not the administration, that the charges in the al-Nashiri case had been dropped. Lippold, who is a fellow with Military Families United, said he would be among family members of victims who are meeting with Obama at the White House on Friday afternoon. - FOX News Story
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