The Norwegian police dropped the Mullah Krekar case this week. There wasn't enough evidence to convict him of attempted murder, kidnapping, funding of terrorism and the other crimes he committed during his time as acting leader of Ansar al-Islam in pre-invasion Kurdish Iraq. Krekar is a free man.

I don't know the details here, but one important factor was the possibility that torture or strong incentives had been used on former Ansar al-Islam members to make them testify against Krekar. There was speculation about this in January, and though it had a conspiracy tinge to it - were the Americans involved somehow? - there seems to have been something to it. One witness withdrew his original statement in February, and accused PUK of having tortured him to frame Krekar. (Ironically, he made this claim while in American custody in Abu Ghraib, where he said he was treated "just fine".) Public prosecutor Tor Aksel Busch is highly critical of the PUK, and says that "there's a realistic chance that witnesses have been pressured and abused".

Another factor was the inability of the Norwegian police to offer adequate protection to witnesses in Kurdish Iraq. With witnesses being put under pressure from both Ansar al-Islam and PUK, the police concluded that further investigation would require better protection than they could offer, and felt it necessary to drop the investigation in February

So they were left with what evidence they already had, some of which had been placed into doubt. I don't know if it was the right decision to drop the case, but we were never particularly qualified to try a Kurd for crimes against Kurds in the first place. Without access to the evidence myself, I'll take the police's word for it: They were unable to build a solid case against Krekar.

Now, to be clear - it stands to reason that Mullah Krekar is an evil fanatic, that he ran a Taliban-like guerilla group in Northern Iraq which partly used suicide attacks and terrorism to fight other groups and their civilian government in the no-fly zone. It would be ridiculous to claim that all this happened without his knowledge and approval. It also passes the test of plausibility that Krekar still holds influence over the branch of Ansar al-Islam which regrouped as a regular terrorist organization after the American invasion. If not influence through actual authority, then through respect. It is rational to believe that Krekar still identifies with their struggle and that of other Islamists to form Shariah states and a worldwide Islamic Caliphate, and that he, one way or another, intends to contribute to that struggle.

In short, Mullah Krekar is an evil bastard.

But we can't prove it. Perhaps others can, in a stable, future Iraq. But it's time for Norway to accept that we did our best, and we botched it. Our best just wasn't very good. So it's time for plan B: Deportation. The formalities have already been taken care of, and the order was given two years ago. Minister of Regional Affairs (+ misc including immmigration) Erna Solberg stated this week that the deportation order stands unchanged.

The only thing that stands between us and a Krekar-free Norway is that we don't have anywhere to send him. Iraq is Krekar's home country, but it's unstable and it's personally unsafe for Krekar to go there. There are other countries where Krekar would be welcomed with open arms - after which he'd be kindly escorted to a jail cell. We're in a bind. We don't want Krekar because we know he's a evil fanatic. We can't send him anywhere, because we know that everyone else knows he's an evil fanatic too, and they won't likely guarantee not to kill him. But we can't prove in court that he's done anything criminal, so the only solution is to let him stay, and live here in freedom. It's the one option nobody is pleased with. (Not even the Norwegian people, a majority of which wants Krekar to leave.)

While we look for a way to get rid of him, Krekar intends to use his freedom to open a language school in Arabic for Norwegians. This is actually an inspired idea - a low-level one-on-one attempt at introducing toned down versions of Islamist ideas into Norway, playing on multiculturalist fascination with Arab culture and Krekar's own celebrityhood. I doubt it will have much effect, though. Some will see a Krekar language school as another step towards "Eurabia", that mythical and irrational doomsday scenario where Islam takes over Europe. Krekar probably believes so as well. Teach Norwegians to read Arab, and they will want something to read, such as the Koran or other Islamic writings, at which point they will be struck by the obvious truthfulness of Krekar's religious beliefs.

But religious beliefs are never as obviously truthful as believers think they are. And although multiculturalism benefits Islamism through its unwillingness to confront the dark side of foreign cultures, they are still two separate and incompatible worldviews.

What bothers me most about all of this is that we'll be stuck with the Krekar circus for a long time. I can already see it before me:
2005 - Krekar opens Arab language school in Oslo, starts an ironic fashion for taking Arab classes from evil Mullah's, (followed next year by a post-ironic fashion for taking Norwegian classes from retired elementary school teachers).
2007 - The police investigates accusations that proceedings from the school are used to finance Europe's terrorist network. Investigation dropped when Nettavisen reveals that some of the evidence comes from American intelligence.
2009 - Mullah Krekar becomes the host of a short-lived celebrity gameshow on NRK.
2010 - One of Krekar's Norwegian pupils makes a spectacular failure of himself trying to blow up an Oslo bus. 50 passengers evacuated, 1 terrorist treated for light burns and a headache.
2013 - Krekar's lawyer and long-time partner Brynjar Meling renounces Christianity, and begins law studies at the Islamic University in Medina.
2014 - Mullah Krekar renounces Islam, launches his first album and an underground career in punk rock.
2016 - Brynjar Ali Meling publishes his masterpiece, "Shariah With a Human Face - Towards a Norwegian Islamic model".
2017 - A translation of Meling's book becomes a surprise hit in France, where it triggers the birth of the sixth republic.
2021 - Mullah Krekar has a spiritual awakening while undergoing treatment for his cocaine addiction, becomes Norway's first televangelist for his own weird brand of Pentecostal Sufism.
2026 - A land-wide Pentecostal Sufi revival is cut short when the climate proves Hollywood right, and 21st century Norway instafreezes into a permanent museum of ice. Mullah Krekar's third and final autobiography, "I Was An Evil Fanatic But God And Rock'n Roll Showed Me the Light", is never published.

Hm. Well, maybe not, but I'd still rather send him away, preferably to a fair trial in Iraq.

Jurisprudence dictates that you're innocent until proven otherwise, and that principle is important to withhold, even though it means that "evil bastards" sometimes slip through. You say that Krekar still holds influence over Ansar al-Islam through respect and that he identifies with their struggle, but you can hardly convict him of that in a court of law. As I understand it, there are widely differing accounts of what Krekar and his organization have done and not done in Iraq, and I wouldn't claim to know what is and isn't right. I'm just glad the public prosecutor isn't wasting time and money on a shaky case that shouldn't be tried in Norway anyway.

Send him to Australia. What happened to that Norway/Australia war Tim Blair used to talk about?

two ideas

1. let him stay and monitor his ass _closely_ (as in he can't take a dump without intelligence knowing about it) if he's as dangerous as you say, he's probably in to something illegal that can be used to jail his ample ass

2. two magic words: sting operation

actually the second could easily result from the first ...

I suppose that Nowegian intelligence operations aren't very well prepared to survey Arabic/Kurdish(?) speaking groups though. But I'd think if he's in Norway, the least that could/should be done is keep him under the microscope.

The constitution of Norway, § 97, (Goes back to 1814, modelled on the US constitution) says it all:
No one shall be punished except after judgement, no one shall be judged except after law.

It is a problem that courts all around the civilised law has pretty consistently failed to convict captured al-Qaeda terrorists.

Those who are dead can't talk, those who are alive will not, and proving what somebody would do is notoriously difficult. I suspect we'll need a legal framework where just communicating or exchanging money with a terrorist network is a crime, and where anti-Americanist conspiracy theories don't stand up in court.

Or, we can make the Bouvet island into our version of Guantanamo Bay.

Not pretty.

Btw: Congratulations, Bjørn, on being the first person in history to write the term "Pentecostal Sufism".

Jan Haugland: "It is a problem that courts all around the civilised law has pretty consistently failed to convict captured al-Qaeda terrorists."

This case was unusual in that all the evidence was in a not fully stable country far away. That probably won't be the case when a genuine al-Qaeda terrorist network is detected.

"I suspect we'll need a legal framework where just communicating or exchanging money with a terrorist network is a crime,"

We should be careful about lowering the standards for conviction of terrorism. If I give money to a Muslim charity, and it turns out to be a front for a terrorist organization, should I be punished as a terrorist? Maybe I knew it was a front, maybe I didn't - would this be relevant?

"Btw: Congratulations, Bjørn, on being the first person in history to write the term "Pentecostal Sufism"."

Thanks! A lot of hard work went into the creation of that term, so I hope the world appreciates it.

Look, I know it's a stupidly naive and simplistic American solution, but the Norwegian government really, really needs a "Department of Two Guys Named Vinnie" a la Dave Barry.

>But it's time for Norway to accept that we did our best, and we botched it. Our best just wasn't very good.

And when it comes to OUR best? Well, the world HATES us!

You guys let Krekar go?

Fine.

WE TOPPLED SADDAM?

DAMN AMERICA! DAMN, DAMN, DAMN THOSE COWBOY BASTARDS!!!!

Frankly, I think we should keep him in the country and monitor him. There's enough circumstantial evidence to support the notion that he's a potential threat - but there's not enough to nail anything on him. Consider this: What is the real danger of having him around as long as we track him rather closely? To the best of my knowledge, he is not interested in being evil in Norway - he is interested in spreading Islamism in Kurdistan. If he knows he's monitored, he'll be cut off - he can't call his Ansar al Islam buddies and plot terrorist acts and Kurdish domination without us knowing it.

I seriously doubt he's interested in striking Norway - if somebody did strike Norway with a terrorist attack, I bet he'll be the first to be detained. He's no fool. He'll also know that the outrage after a terrorist strike in Norway would get the general population in line with the US - a full-on "war on terror".

The guy is evil, but manageable. Let's keep him. Our intelligence services need some practice anyhow!

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