Judge drops charges in USS Cole bombing case (Reuters)

[Yahoo! News]

Reuters - The judge overseeing U.S. war crimes court at Guantanamo on Thursday dismissed the charges against a Saudi prisoner accused of plotting the bombing of the Navy warship USS Cole, the Pentagon said.

The move avoided a showdown between the U.S. military and President Barack Obama. It canceled a hearing that had been set for Monday in the Guantanamo war crimes court, despite the fact Obama had ordered a freeze in proceedings there.

Susan Crawford, the retired judge who oversees the commissions, issued a ruling dismissing without prejudice all charges against Saudi national Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, said Pentagon spokesman Navy Commander J.D. Gordon.

Nashiri is accused of plotting the attack on the Cole that killed 17 U.S. sailors in the Yemeni port of Aden in 2000.

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