US turns over Hezbollah prisoner to Iraqi government 
 
 By Jeremy Herb - 
 
 The U.S. handed over a Hezbollah prisoner suspected of being involved in the deaths of five U.S. soldiers to the Iraqi government Friday, as U.S. troops prepare to leave the country, the White House said. 
 
 The Obama administration had been pushing Iraq to allow the U.S. to keep Ali Musa Daqduq in U.S. custody, and President Obama discussed it with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki when he visited the White House Monday, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said. 
 
 But the Iraqi government wouldn’t agree to let the U.S. taking Daqduq out of Iraq, and the U.S. legally had to transfer him to Iraqi custody under the security agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in 2008, Vietor said. 
 
 The decision to hand the last prisoner in U.S. custody over to the Iraqis was blasted by Republicans and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Friday, who had wanted him transferred to Guantánamo Bay for a military tribunal. 
 
 A statement from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lieberman and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the move “disgraceful.” 
 
 “Coming on the heels of the Administration's failure to maintain a small American military presence in Iraq to support the fragile peace there, this failure to keep a committed murderer of Americans in U.S. custody sends exactly the wrong message to our allies and enemies in the region,” the statement said. 
 
 Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: “Given Iraq’s history of releasing detainees, I expect it is only a matter of time before this terrorist will be back on the battlefield.” 
 
 Vietor said that the administration did not want to send any more detainees to Guantanamo, and the U.S. had discussed transferring him to a U.S. military commission. 
 
 “The president has been clear that he believes it’s in our national security interest to close the detention facility of Guantanamo Bay, not add to the population,” Vietor said. 
 
 Vietor said the Iraqis have given assurances to the administration that Daqduq will be tried for his crimes. 
 
 Daqduq is accused of organizing a 2007 raid in Karbala, Iraq, where five U.S. soldiers were killed. 
 
 Under the security agreement with Iraq, the U.S. must return all prisoners to Iraqi custody as it leaves the country. The U.S. marked the end of the Iraq war Thursday and is in the process of withdrawing the final troops from the country by the end of the month. ||||| As the United States winds down its military role in Iraq , on Friday it turned over its last detainee in the country to Iraqi authorities, but not without serious concerns.The Obama administration had been trying to convince the Iraqi government for months to allow the extradition of Ali Mussa Daqduq, a suspected Hezbollah operative, to the U.S. for trial. Daqduq is accused of orchestrating a 2007 kidnapping that resulted in the killing of five U.S. military personnel.But ultimately, Baghdad would not cooperate.“Because of the president’s concerns about the crimes Daqduq is alleged to have committed, we worked a wide range of options consistent with U.S. and Iraqi law to effect his transfer to a U.S. military commission. We did so because we felt that was the fastest possible way to bring him to justice. We are continuing to discuss this case with the Iraqis, and as of this morning, he has been transferred to Iraqi custody,” said Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a statement.“We take this case very seriously, and for that reason have sought and received assurances that he will be tried for his crimes,” Vietor said. “We have worked this at the highest levels of the U.S. and Iraqi governments, and we continue to discuss with the Iraqis the best way to ensure that he faces justice.”But that wasn’t enough to reassure lawmakers who said they remain concerned the Iraqi government will release Daqduq for political reasons.In a statement, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, termed the administration’s actions “disgraceful.”“The real test regarding Daqduq was not whether the United States should violate our security agreement with Iraq in order to maintain custody of him outside of the country. The real test was whether the United States could exercise our influence effectively with the Iraqi government to ensure that a committed killer of Americans would be held accountable for his crimes in the U.S. system of justice. The administration has clearly failed that test,” the senators said. “As a result, we are deeply concerned that Daqduq will never have to answer for his involvement in killing U.S. citizens, that he could be released from Iraqi custody for political reasons, and that he would then return to the fight against the United States and our friends.”
– As the US wound down its operations in Iraq this week, it transferred its last remaining detainee over to Iraqi authorities, reports the Los Angeles Times. The move was a controversial one because Ali Musa Daqduq is accused of being a Hezbollah operative behind a 2007 Iraqi raid that resulted in the deaths of five US soldiers. Critics—especially Republicans—wanted him transferred to Gitmo, but Iraqi authorities refused to let him out of the country, explains the Hill. "This failure to keep a committed murderer of Americans in US custody sends exactly the wrong message to our allies and enemies in the region,” said a statement from John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham. Their fears that he'll get soft treatment may come true: The AP reports today that he will be prosecuted in Iraq only for the relatively minor charge of using a forged passport to enter the country. However, the US promises to press the case, and it's possible further charges could come.