Parents of Murdered Green Berets Demand Justice from Jordan and Call for U.S. Prosecution

The parents of three U.S. Army Special Forces members murdered at the King Faisal Air Base in Jordan in 2016 are calling on Congress to demand justice from the Jordanian government, specifically the extradition of the soldier who killed their sons and a convicted Jordanian terrorist tied to a 2001 bombing that killed 15 civilians, including two Americans. As Congress considers a new foreign aid package for Jordan, the parents are urging the U.S. government to withhold or reduce aid until the Jordanian government addresses the killings.

Key Takeaways:

• The parents of three U.S. Army Special Forces members, Matthew Charles Lewellen, Kevin Joseph McEnroe, and James Francis Moriarty, were murdered at the King Faisal Air Base in Jordan in 2016.
• The families are demanding the extradition of the Jordanian soldier who killed their sons and Ma'Arek Al-Tawayha, the soldier who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
• The families are also calling for the extradition of Ahlam Al-Tamimi, a convicted Jordanian terrorist who helped plan a 2001 bombing in Jerusalem that killed a pregnant American woman and a 15-year-old American girl.
• The U.S. Department of State reported that the U.S. is Jordan's single largest provider of bilateral assistance, with $1.275 billion in aid provided this year, in addition to other economic aid, foreign debt payments, and U.S. Department of Defense support.
• Jordan has received a total of $22.09 billion in economic and military assistance from the U.S., making it the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid this year.
• The families have contacted 84 members of Congress and are urging them to suspend foreign aid to Jordan and call for the extraditions of Al-Tamimi and The Jordanian soldier who killed their sons.
• Ahlam Al-Tamimi has been listed on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List and has lived freely in Jordan since her release from an Israeli prison in 2011.

Statistics:

• $1.275 billion: U.S. aid provided to Jordan in 2020
• $22.09 billion: Total economic and military assistance provided to Jordan by the U.S. since 1990
• 15: Number of civilians killed in a 2001 bombing in Jerusalem, including a pregnant American woman and a 15-year-old American girl
• 2: Number of Americans killed in the 2001 bombing
• 130: Number of wounded in the 2001 bombing
• 2016: Year of the murders of the three U.S. Army Special Forces members
• 2011: Year Ahlam Al-Tamimi was released from an Israeli prison as part of a prisoner exchange

Sources:

• U.S. Department of State
• Congressional Research Service
• Powers MediaWorks LLC and Astra Communications
• FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List
• Israeli prison records
• U.S. Embassy in Jordan records