US News
Guantanamo decisions seen as setbacks for US government (Roundup)
By Pat Reber Jun 5, 2007, 3:20 GMT
A guard opens a gate while in the background two detainees sit in a rest area behind fencing, within the grounds of Camp Delta 4 military-run prison, at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. REUTERS/Brennan Linsley/Pool
Washington - US military judges Monday dealt two apparent setbacks to the Bush administration, dropping terrorism charges against two Guantanamo prison inmates - a young Canadian and a man alleged to have been Osama bin Laden's driver.
A military spokesman indicated that the decisions - which said the two cases did not fall under the authority of newly created military commissions - involved a 'technicality' about the men's status and would be appealed by military prosecutors in the coming days.
The judges ruled separately in the two cases to drop the charges against Canadian Omar Khadr, who was 15 when interred at Guantanamo, and Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen, the alleged driver for the Al-Qaeda leader.
Captain Keith Allred, the judge in the Hamdan case, called for a clarification of the language that described Hamdan's status as an 'enemy combatant,' according to Jeffrey Gordon, the Pentagon spokesman.
Allred's ruling echoed the decision earlier Monday by the other judge, Colonel Peter Brownback, who said that Khadr had only been classified as an 'enemy combatant' - and not as an 'alien unlawful enemy combatant' - during the initial round of hearings in 2004 and 2005.
Those hearings were challenged before the US Supreme Court in a case brought on behalf of Hamdan by civil rights lawyers. The court ruled the proceedings on Guantanamo violated US military law and international treaties, unless Congress took formal action to establish the procedures.
Until that decision, the White House insisted it had the right to imprison, classify and withhold charges indefinitely against some 400 people held at Guantanamo on the suspicion of terrorism. Because the suspects were not wearing the uniform of any one nation, nor reporting to a civilian national authority, the prisoners did not deserve protection under the Geneva Conventions, the administration of US President George W Bush had argued.
Congress complied with the Supreme Court ruling and approved a new system for dealing with the Guantanamo prisoners. Under the new system, prisoners had to be classified as 'alien unlawful enemy combatants' to be processed through the system.
'This is really a technicality to codify that they are indeed unlawful enemy combatants,' Gordon said in a telephone interview. 'The government's view, the prosecution's view, is that it is implicit in the initial procedures of 2004 and 2005 that (the suspects) were unlawful.'
Monday's decisions did not set Khadr and Hamdan free, but rather left them in a legal limbo until appeals are filed. They could even face a repeat of the review tribunals to determine their status anew, some observers suggested.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU,) which has launched many of the legal challenges against the Guantanamo system in US courts, said the 'surprise' decisions were further proof that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 was 'fundamentally flawed.'
'This is a major setback for the military commissions,' said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National Security Project. 'The ACLU has been monitoring this system for three years now and over that time, the only constant we have observed has been chaos.'
Khadr and Hamdan were the second and third detainees to be charged under the military commissions set up by Congress last year.
Australian David Hicks, captured in late 2001 in Afghanistan, was the first person convicted under the new system. Hicks pleaded guilty in March to providing material support to terrorism and received a seven-year sentence, which was commuted to nine months in prison as part of the plea agreement.
Hicks was to be returned to Australia to serve out the sentence.
Khadr, 20, has been charged with the hand-grenade slaying of a US soldier in Afghanistan in July 2002. The Toronto-born man is the youngest inmate at Guantanamo, captured at age 15.
His defence lawyer has portrayed him as a 'child soldier,' who was influenced by adults and should be rehabilitated rather than imprisoned.
Prosecutors cited Khadr's family history in the case. His father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was a deputy of Osama bin Laden and lived with his children in an al-Qaeda camp. The Egyptian-born Canadian immigrant was killed in a spectacular attack by the Pakistani military in October, 2003, when they surrounded the house of terrorist suspects in Waziristan province.
Hamdan, said to have been bin Laden's driver and bodyguard, was charged last month with conspiracy and providing material support to terrorism, including delivering weapons for terrorism, receiving weapons training at a camp in Afghanistan, and conspiring to commit murder with other al-Qaeda operatives.
The charges against Hamdan do not carry the death penalty. Hamdan was captured by the US military in Afghanistan in November 2001.
Others likely to face charges under the new system are 14 high- level terrorism suspects who were transferred to Guantanamo last year after years of being held in secret CIA prisons, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who admitted to masterminding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in a recent hearing.
The indefinite detention of detainees without charges at Guantanamo has prompted strong criticism of the Bush administration from NATO allies, the United Nations and human rights organizations.
Bush has said he wants to close Guantanamo, but must first get countries to agree to take custody of the prisoners who will not face US charges.
'It is long past time that war crimes trials are shifted to ordinary courts martial or civilian courts,' the ACLU's Jaffer said. 'The Bush administration cannot simply ignore the rule of law and create its own legal system for trying detainees and expect prosecutions to run smoothly.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
What a joke! There is no rule of law for the Muslims in USA nor in any other western country. It is crime to be Muslim in America. And, that is good enough to be indicted.
WE HAVE SEEN MULTIPLE TRIALS WHERE MUSLIMS ARE INVOLVED, LACK OF JUSTICE IS THE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF THE WEST!!!
What a surprise - a ruling that shows America hasn't a leg to stand on. The Bush government, imprisoning and torturing Muslims and generally behaving like corrupt, fascist aggressors for no apparent reason? Surely not!
Come on America. Let's just give up, paint big old targets on our chests and get it over with already.
In doing these challenges, the courts are doing what Congress won't: Codifying the law. As each step defines the advantages and the shortcomings, it forces Congress to react, or points to their shortcomings.
Bush's biggest mistake was not to get a Constitutional Amendment after 9/11, when he had the momentum, redefining the 4th Amendment. Too late now, until more people die.
Sweetheart, I've never 'suked' anything.
I do hope these court decisions mark the beginning of sanity and the end of the US jack-booted era.
Especially this and to a lesser degree past administrations have all contributed to building the current US fascist mindset. That push & shove attitude needs to be set aside now and concentrate on upholding the Constitution and restoring citizens inalienable US freedoms and rights.
By all rights and rule of law, the Son Of a Bush (SOB) and associates should be impeached and delivered to the word court to stand trial for war crimes. The chances are slim that any such action will be because taken for the US once effectual check and balance system was subverted by the Texas Taliban and NeoCon partners in crime. I am an American and speaking only for me Bush is a huge inarticulate embarrassment and has brought great shame to my country on many counts. Our past and current administrations were/are out of control. I feel the US is in sad need at bare minimum a major image make-over. There are no good answers to our problems, but a few things that pop to mind are:
First to stop the money-corruption cycle, do away with political-influence money and lobbyists by funding our election campaigns and government exclusively from the US tax dollar with equal amounts of money to support the top five parties/candidates. Vote with your ballot for if you vote with the dollar big money will win every time.
Second request an independent and unimpeded UN investigation of SOB & staff and as requested turn any or all over to a word court for further war crimes investigation and any suggested impeachment and/or punishment.
Third turn all 2000/2004 election records over to an independent UN committee for investigation and possible corrective and/or punitive measures.
Fourth request the UN provide unrestricted oversight of our future presidential elections.
Fifth validate the treaties so rashly nullified post 9/11.
Sixth Repeal the Patriot act and Military Commissions Act of 2006. Roll all our rights and liberties back (or should I say forward) to the pre-drug war days and reinstitute laws only if they pass stringent (Libertarian) Constitutional tests.
Seven give Israel/Palestine 90 days to settle their differences, wash our hands of all responsibilities then pull out and let the chips fall where they may.
Eight restore the possibility of a third party (a real choice) winning an election. See number one.
Nine punish the politicos for corruption not the usual symbolic slap on the hand we now accept as justice for our elected officials. Around twenty years without possibility of parole is justified for selling out our country and nation.
Ten rigorously enforce the separation of church and state mandate.
Last The Department of Defense is a distancing euphemism; restore its original name “The War Department”.
'Ringo Jun 5th, 2007 - 14:57:20
I do hope these court decisions mark the beginning of sanity and the end of the US jack-booted era. '
Did you hear that folks; 'Ringo' has a problem with the way we have tried to defend ourselves.
Maybe we should have sawed their filthy heads off and put the video on the internet, that doesn't seem to bother the moralizing clown set.
Yeah, you never hear outrage about how the Islamics treat their prisoners, but they cry and cry at how they are treated at gitmo.
Yes, there is a legal nexus in America, but compared to any muslim nation on earth, America is 100 times more fair.
If you want to see how Muslims treat Muslims, just look about anywhere on the globe. America treats muslims better than ANY other Muslim nation treats their own citizens.
Do you mean to say that you are behaving like barbarians because you opponents do that ?Then you will have no arguments against them left .
Benjamin Franklin knew better .
As a matter of fact you guysd are also introducing collective responsibility for as a just measure .As far as I know the people illegaly imprisoned and tortured by american forces in Guantanamo are NOT guilty of sawing off heads at all.Nobody has been charged with anything even remotely comparable .A lot of these people are not even guilty of anything at all,except being at the wrong place in the wrong time .But it appears for some of you guys being a muslim is enough to judge them guilty .Yjat is exactly what you guys are saying.And then you claim to dened justice ?You have no vlues of moral attitude and ethics .A civilized society does not adopts such views,nor does it condone in this lawless behaviour.Gtow up.
Ringo, you throw around alot of catchy phrases. Please explain the 'fascist mindset of the US. Please tell us all what the UN has accomplished lately except for their peace keeping skills. How bout that Rawanda? As for corruption, how about that Food for oil debacle? 'Punish the politicos for corruption'-would that include Rep. William Jefferson with his 500,000 in bribes or would you make an exception for him? Didn't I hear somewhere that Clinton sold lots of secrets to China? And Ringo, in your explanations please refrain from going back in history hundreds of years ago in order to trash the evil white man.
Is this a new accusation.Clinton selling secrets to Chinz,sounds like new neocon spin to me .Ridiculous .Prove it.
I could name a few things UN has not done.It has not invaded Iraq,it has not downplayed the danger of glovbal warming,etc.
Even if the whole world unites in resolutions there is still the USA posing it's veto.Dont blame the only organization that has done nothing WRONG .Your president has a record that is incomparable.
Tonny, go to google and type in clinton sold china. Lots and lots of pages. And speaking of China, don't they use alot of oil and aren't they soon to be the biggest consumers of it in the near future? What do they have to say about Global warming? Also, there are credible scientists that don't believe that humans are causing it. There has to be an open two sided debate on a matter of this importance. I truly have no idea whether we cause it or not. If we do, obviously measures need to be taken. If however, it's open for debate the world needs that debate to be in the open and non political.
So when is 'fair' america sending one of its war criminals to guantanititicaca?
You know, the little bastard named scooter libby. He thought he could, he thought he could.
=)
all that foosball on sunday is not good for your heads; you havent learned anything have you? how come you grunts of the earth, americans, dont know that a good offense is a good defense? even that bone head commentator (think BAM!) knows this.
the best way to defend your castle? go home, stay home.
The tyrant is not all powerful after all! I hope that people from other countries will see this as an example of how our government actually is a good system. We certainly have had a major problem for the past 6 & 1/2 years but our system does work.
Bush has been really good at manipulating the system to suit his own personal ends but only because of a set of perfect circumstances that don't usually occur. Republicans controlled 2 parts of our government and tried to take control of the third. The popular movement of the christian right extremists was underway. The American public actually believed (for a little while) that Iraq had something to do with 9/11 because of Bush's thoughtless but instant response.
I think it will be a while before these circumstances present again in our government. I hope America has learned a valuable lesson from this. I hope the people of other countries will forgive our senselessness these past few years.
First of all, I am an American citizen, so I feel I have a right to say that I think our 'leadership' over the last 6+ years has been, well, pretty damn pathetic.
Second of all, I feel, as an American citizen, that I have every right to expect answers from my government about their many criminal actions over the same time period.
Writing to my elected representatives gets no response whatsoever.
They don't care about what the citizens think.
Unless you happen to belong to a group of people with access to lots of Money, which means that I am pretty much screwed.
So much for being proud to be an American.
I am ashamed of the way we are treating the citizens of the world, our own citizens included.
I hear they are going to run Cheney with Satan in '08. Anybody on board?
page: 1
alJun 5th, 2007 - 09:04:14
'The Bush administration cannot simply ignore the rule of law and create its own legal system for trying detainees and expect prosecutions to run smoothly
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