Today, the New York Sun reports:

A former Florida college professor, Sami Al-Arian, has pleaded guilty to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad and agreed to serve more jail time before being deported, according to records made public today by a federal court in Tampa.

But is this really a surprise? Afterall, a video surfaced last July of Sami Al-Arian as a “fiery fundraiser for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad”. But despite the video, and in light of Al-Arian’s admission, let’s look back at what liberals said in defense of this terrorist…

In July, 2004, the website, DemocracyNow, whined:

In late September 2001, al-Arian was invited to be a guest on The O’Reilly Factor. Al-Arian thought he was going to be discussing Arab-American reactions to the attacks. Instead, host Bill O’Reilly went on a tirade against him, basically accusing al-Arian of supporting terrorism and terrorist groups. O’Reilly dug up comments al-Arian had made 15 years earlier and suggested that he should be followed everywhere he went. All of this on live international television and just weeks after the 9-eleven attacks.

If it weren’t for websites like DemocracyNow, who would stand up for the terrorists and attack those who would dare “basically accus[e]” a terrorist of being such?

And just 3 months ago, the ACLU wrote a letter to the Department of Justice urging them to drop all charges against a suspected terrorist. From the ACLU’s website:

Dr. Al-Arian was arrested in February 2003 and charged with conspiring with a Tampa terrorist cell, charges which Dr. Al-Arian vehemently denied. The ACLU said the government failed to prove that he provided funds or otherwise engaged in any terrorist activities.

Gosh, if the ACLU had been more forceful, they might’ve been able to get this poor terrorist released. Surely he and his jihadi brothers would reward the ACLU for their hard work by not flying planes into their buildings.

Eric Boehlert, writing for Salon.com called the investigation into the terrorist a “prime-time smearing” and said:

By pandering to anti-Arab hysteria, NBC, Fox News, Media General and Clear Channel radio disgraced themselves — and ruined an innocent professor’s life.

Now that Al-Arian has pled guilty, I wonder what kind of “smearing” Mr. Boehlert will classify it as.

The Socialists called it a “witch hunt“. But then again, when have they ever been right about anything?

TalkLeft cheered the initial news about the terrorist’s trial.

Other liberals tried to use Al-Arian’s case as a way to bash the Patriot Act. In fact, the DailyKos website called it, “one of the biggest courtroom tests yet of the Patriot Act’s expanded search-and-surveillance powers.”

Consider the test… passed.

Others:
StopTheACLU says, “Sorry ACLU, but America won this one.”
Wizbang has pictures of Al-Arian’s group that the liberals love to defend.
Matt says, “Looks like the Patriot Act works.”