SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — As a prisoner at Guantanamo, Said Ali al-Shihri said he wanted freedom so he could go home to Saudi Arabia and work at his family’s furniture store.Instead, al-Shihri, who was released in 2007 under the Bush administration, is now deputy leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a group that has claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attempted bomb attack on a Detroit-bound airliner.His potential involvement in the terrorist plot has raised new opposition to releasing Guantanamo Bay inmates, complicating President Barack Obama’s pledge to close the military prison in Cuba. It also highlights the challenge of identifying the hard-core militants as the administration decides what to do with the remaining 198 prisoners.Like other former Guantanamo detainees who have rejoined al-Qaida in Yemen, al-Shihri, 36, won his release despite jihadist credentials such as, in his case, urban warfare training in Afghanistan.He later goaded the United States, saying Guantanamo only strengthened his anti-American convictions.“By God, our imprisonment has only increased our persistence and adherence to our principles,” he said in a speech when al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula formed in Yemen in January 2009. It was included in a propaganda film for the group.Al-Shihri and another Saudi released from Guantanamo in 2006, Ibrahim Suleiman al-Rubaish, appear to have played significant roles in al-Qaida’s…

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Ex-Gitmo detainees help al-Qaida grow in Yemen

BATH, Maine — Cruising through the darkness in rough seas, the destroyer Ross encountered a rogue wave that smashed into the destroyer’s bow, sending a shudder along the entire ship that knocked sleeping crew out of their bunks and damaged the sonar housing.As alarms sounded, sleepy sailors scrambled to shore up the leak.“We cracked the hull and kept on going like it was nothing,” retired sailor Jonathan Staeblein, of Hagerstown, Md., recalled. In fact, the 510-foot destroyer was never out of service for repairs during any deployment in the three years he served aboard as an electronic warfare technician.Arleigh Burke-class destroyers such as the Ross and Cole, which survived a terrorist suicide bombing in Yemen, have proven to be durable workhorses in the Navy.Over the 22 years since construction of the first one began at Bath Iron Works, the ship has steamed into the record book: The destroyer’s production run has outlasted every other battleship, cruiser, destroyer and frigate in U.S. Navy history. The only warship in production for longer was the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, said Norman Polmar, a naval historian, author and analyst.Thanks to a decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Arleigh Burke destroyers…

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After 2-plus decades, Burkes break record

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Fort Hood mass shooting suspect's attorney says his client is being treated more harshly than other soldiers suspected of a crime.Attorney John Galligan says Maj. Nidal Hasan has excessive restrictions — including a rule barring any visitors when his attorneys are in his hospital room.Galligan says he can't work on Hasan's case because he needs to meet with Hasan and one of his relatives at the same time.Hasan is undergoing rehabilitation at a San Antonio military hospital, recovering from wounds that left him paralyzed.Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 shooting at the central Texas Army post. He was shot and wounded by Fort Hood police officers, authorities have said.

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Attorney: Hood suspect has more restrictions

Three shots rang out.Senior Airman Tre Porfirio went down.To save his life, doctors had to remove his pancreas during one of 11 surgeries to repair the damage caused by an Afghan insurgent.Without his pancreas, Porfirio would normally face life as a severe diabetic, with daily insulin injections and a higher risk of blindness, kidney failure, amputations and strokes.But groundbreaking surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., is expected to keep that from happening. Surgeons at Walter Reed, working with a Florida doctor who developed the procedure, took cells from Porfirio’s pancreas and injected them into his liver.The surgery was the first known successful transplant of insulin-producing cells after severe trauma resulting in the complete loss of the pancreas, according to Walter Reed officials. If all goes as planned, the cells inside Porfirio’s liver will produce insulin that normally would come from his pancreas.The procedure began the night before Thanksgiving, when doctors at Walter Reed packed Porfirio’s pancreas in ice and shipped it by airplane to Dr. Camillo Ricordi at the University of Miami.Ricordi’s team spent six hours isolating the “islet cells” that produce insulin, then suspended the cells in a special cold solution and sent them back to Walter Reed. On Thanksgiving Day, Walter Reed doctors performed the transplant.“Being able to serve …

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Injured airman has groundbreaking surgery

WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge dismissed all charges Thursday against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007.U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said Justice Department prosecutors improperly built their case on sworn statements that had been given under a promise of immunity. Urbina said the government’s explanations were “contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility.”The decision throws out a case steeped in international politics. The September 2007 shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. The Iraqi government wanted the guards to face trial in Iraq and officials there said they would closely watch how the U.S. judicial system handled the case.“We’re obviously disappointed by the decision,” Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said. “We’re still in the process of reviewing the opinion and considering our options.”Prosecutors can appeal the 90-page ruling.Blackwater contractors had been hired to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The shooting led to the unraveling of the U.S.-based company, which since has changed its management and changed its name to Xe Services.The five guards are Donald Ball, Dustin Heard and Evan Liberty, all former…

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Judge dismisses all charges in Baghdad shooting

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani police said Thursday they plan to ask a court to charge five Americans arrested in early December with terrorism, and will seek life sentences against them.The young Muslim men, who are from the Washington D.C. area, were captured in the eastern Pakistan city of Sargodha in a case that has spurred fears that Westerners are traveling to Pakistan to join militant groups.Tahir Gujar, a senior police investigator in Sargodha, said police had almost concluded their investigation and that the men would appear in an anti-terrorist court in the city on Jan. 4.“We are certain that these five Americans wanted to carry out attacks in Pakistan, and we will seek life imprisonment for them,” he said.Under Pakistan’s complicated judicial system, the police will recommend the charges during the court appearance on Monday. However, the court might not charge the men immediately, and the five will likely be given time to prepare their defense after they have seen the charges.Gujar didn’t say what police believe the men intended to target.Authorities have said that the five had a map of Chashma Barrage, a complex that includes a water reservoir and other structures in the populous province of Punjab. It is located near nuclear power facilities about…

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Pakistan to seek terror charges for 5 Americans

KABUL — U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan doubled in 2009 compared with a year ago as 30,000 additional troops began pouring in for a stepped-up offensive and the Taliban fought back with powerful improvised bombs.A tally by The Associated Press shows 304 American service members had died as of Dec. 30, up from 151 in 2008. The count does not include eight U.S. civilians killed by a suicide bomber on a base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.Also, the annual death toll of international troops, including U.S. forces, surpassed 500 for the first time in the war. The total this year was 502 compared with 286 in 2008, according to AP’s count.Among other forces, Britain took the worst blow in 2009 with 107 deaths and Canada lost 32, including four who died Wednesday when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb. Other countries in the international military operation lost a total of 59 service members.U.S. military officials acknowledge that the insurgency has the momentum and that more troops on the battlefield means the death toll is likely to remain high in the near term. Another 30,000 reinforcements are due in coming months, raising the American presence to 100,000.In contrast, U.S. deaths in Iraq dropped by half as troops largely remained on bases and the United States prepares to withdraw from that country by the end …

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Afghan death toll more than doubles in 2009

KABUL — The Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for a suicide bombing at a base in eastern Afghanistan that killed eight American civilians and one Afghan, the worst loss of life for the U.S. in the country since October. A U.S. congressional official said CIA employees are believed to be among the victims.Separately, four Canadian soldiers and a journalist imbedded in their unit were killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s south, the bloodiest single incident suffered by that country’s military in 2009.Michelle Lang, a 34-year-old health reporter with the Calgary Herald, was the first Canadian journalist to die in Afghanistan. She arrived in the country just two weeks ago.Also Thursday, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand province in the south said an airstrike by international forces killed and wounded civilians. Dawud Ahmadi said he did not have immediate information on how many died in the attack Wednesday in Babajid district, which he said occurred after an international forces patrol came under fire. NATO said it was aware of the reports and was investigating.It was not immediately clear how the suicide bomber at the base at the edge of Khost city was able to circumvent security.Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that an Afghan National …

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Taliban claims responsibility for lethal blast

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — After hanging up her stethoscope five years ago, Maita Jarkewicz thought her career as a doctor was complete.On Monday, the Willoughby woman recharged her medical career.Instead of patients, the mother of three boys will care for soldiers in the Ohio Army National Guard.”I think I've had the desire to serve whether it be the military or the public,” she said.During her swear-in ceremony, Capt. Brian K. McGinniss asked her to raise her right hand as an American flag and Christmas tree stood in the background.Immediately after the ceremony, Jarkewicz saluted her son James, a private first class in the Ohio Army National Guard. It was James who had urged his mother to consider a career in the military.”I started and she went in after me. Usually it's the other way around,” he said.In November 2008, McGinniss got a call from Maita Jarkewicz, who asked if she could serve in the military as a doctor.”We have a need for medical professionals in the Army National Guard,” McGinniss said.”If I can get six or seven like her, the National Guard would be elated. We're basically bringing these guys on for their knowledge and their skills.”During her commission ceremony, Jarkewicz was made a captain in the Ohio Army National Guard.Only medical professionals, attorneys, chaplains or Judge Advocate General attorneys can receive a direct …

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Mom continues medical career by joining Guard

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — A 91-year-old veteran from Walnut Creek has received France's highest honor for fighting the Germans during World War II as part of a covert French group.Former U.S. Army Air Corps pilot William Kalan was awarded France's Legion of Honor on Tuesday at the retirement community in Walnut Creek where he lives. Kalan joined up with a French underground resistance group after he was shot down over German-occupied France in June 1944.He says his missions included helping the resistance group ambush a German truck convoy. He eventually rejoined American troops.French consul general Pierre-Francois Mourier, who gave the award to Kalan, called him “an exemplary human being.”

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WWII vet gets France's highest honor