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Editorial: Tracking down a wanted killer
U.S. hopes reward leads to terrorist
The U.S. has a long memory when it comes to tracking down terrorists responsible for killing one of its citizens.
STORY TOOLS 
More from OpinionThis doggedness is exemplified by the State Department recently offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of Islamic terrorist Mohammed Ali Hamadei.
Mr. Hamadei is under indictment in the U.S. for his role in the June 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight during which Robert Stethem, a 23-year-old Navy Seabee, was killed.
The plane was seized during an Athens-to-Rome flight and diverted to Lebanon with its 153 passengers and crew. The hijackers held the plane for 17 days, and when their demands were not met, they beat Mr. Stethem, shot him in the head and then dumped his body onto the runway of a Beirut airport.
Mr. Stethem's death holds special meaning for many in Ventura County. Not only is the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme the home to some 2,600 fellow Seabees, it is the site where a new guided-missile destroyer named in honor of Mr. Stethem was made part of the Navy's fleet during an emotional ceremony in 1995.
The commissioning was a proud first for the naval base at the time and also for the Navy in that the USS Stethem was the first ship ever named for an enlisted man.
Two years after the hijacking, Mr. Hamadei was arrested, tried and imprisoned in West Germany for smuggling liquid explosives, but was abruptly freed in 2005 by the Germans.
Still, in the eyes of the U.S. government, he remains a fugitive.
The $5 million being offered for Mr. Hamadei's arrest comes from the U.S. Rewards for Justice program, which is run by the State Department. The program is credited with having prevented planned terrorist acts and to have helped capture people involved in past acts.
Mr. Hamadei, who is rumored to have rejoined Hezbollah in Lebanon, needs to be held accountable for the brutal murder of Mr. Stethem.
We hope the reward finally brings justice.
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