Britain Will Release al-Qaeda Sheik As Payment For BBC Reporter

The great empire has folded. They have negotiated with terrorists and approved a prisoner swap. How long before the next Brit is kidnapped? This from Aaron Klein for WND:

JAFFA, Israel - In exchange for the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, Britain told the Hamas terror group through mediators it would free from jail an extremist sheik accused of serving as al-Qaida's spiritual adviser in Europe, Palestinian sources involved in the negotiations claimed to WND.

The sheik, Abu Qatada, is accused among other things of advising 9/11 terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and attempted shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Qatada's sermons were found among the possessions of 9/11 operational leader Mohammed Atta.

A major league player in the world of terror for a reporter. Not for a soldier and not for a kidnapped tourist but for a man who voluntarily went to Gaza knowing full well the risks that entailed.

The Palestinian sources involved in the Johnston negotiations claimed the British government pledged through a third-party mediator to release Abu Qatada after six months so the release wouldn't appear connected to Johnston's freedom.

Qatada has been detained in Britain as a terror suspect but was not tried or sentenced.

How naïve!! Does the Brit government think that if they hoodwink the public then all is well? The terrorists know you paid the ransom. They will come knocking again very soon. You never pay ransom only once.

The sources admitted the Army of Islam had no way of ensuring the British government follow through with its purported commitment to release Qatada, but they said Dugmash (the kidnappers) threatened to kidnap more British nationals in Gaza if Qatada is not freed.

They will kidnap any Brit they can. It has nothing to do with Qatada anymore. Britain has folded and there will be a heavy price to pay.

Who exactly is Qatada?

Abu Qatada entered the UK in 1993 with a forged United Arab Emirates passport after fleeing Jordan, where he faced accusations of inciting terrorist acts. He reportedly delivered sermons calling for the downfall of the U.S. and Britain. In the mid-1990s, Qatada was said to have held meetings with an MI5 officer at which he suggested his willingness to co-operate to help prevent Islamist terrorism in the UK. The meetings were later outlined in an official governmental commission regarding Qatada. Qatada was accused by German authorities of plotting an attack on a central market, and he was sentenced in absentia in 2000 to life imprisonment in Jordan for his alleged involvement in a plot to bomb tourists there attending millennium celebrations.

Qatada is wanted on terrorism charges in Algeria, the U.S., Belgium, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Jordan.

Nineteen videotapes featuring Qatada's sermons were found among the possessions of 9/11 ringleader Atta. A Paris-based terror cell accused of plotting to blow up the U.S. embassy in France in 2001 reportedly was headed by a follower of Qatada.

A British immigration appeals commission report stated it concluded Qatada was a "key UK figure" in al-Qaida related terror.

This monster will soon be free courtesy of Her Majesty's Government.