Can't Blame a Guy For Trying

An alert reader (thanks, AG!) pointed me to this article, which describes how an Al-Qaeda operative escaped from the Bagram prison in Afghanistan, and will therefore be unavailable to testify against Sgt. Alan Driver, who has been accused of abuse.

Omar al-Farouq was one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in Southeast Asia until Indonesian authorities captured him in the summer of 2002 and turned him over to the United States.

Oops. Maybe they should've kept a better eye on that one. If not for his highly publicized plans to blow up American embassies this wouldn't be such a big deal, but the other prisoners Driver is accused of abusing are also not going to be testifying:

Driver, a reservist from the Ohio-based 377th Military Police Company, is charged with maltreatment and assault of three detainees, including one who later died, at the Bagram facility in 2002...Other alleged victims in Driver's case also cannot testify. One was released from custody and cannot be found, and the other has died.

Looks to me like Driver is batting about .333. Hey, if they can run away, you haven't hit 'em hard enough, right?