Closing Gitmo: Restoring the Rule of Law

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Two weeks ago, Barack Obama promised, "We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our constitution. That is not only the right thing to do but it actually has to be part of our broader national security strategy because we will send a message to the world that we are serious about our values." But questions remained. How soon would the president keep his promise? How quickly would he shut down the notorious detention facility? What about the secret prisons? We got our answers this morning.

President Obama signed executive orders Thursday directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantanamo detention camp within a year, government officials said.

The orders, which are the first steps in undoing detention policies of former President George W. Bush, rewrite American rules for the detention of terrorism suspects. They require an immediate review of the 245 detainees still held at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to determine if they should be transferred, released or prosecuted.

And the orders bring to an end a Central Intelligence Agency program that kept terrorism suspects in secret custody for months or years, a practice that has brought fierce criticism from foreign governments and human rights activists. They will also prohibit the C.I.A. from using coercive interrogation methods, requiring the agency to follow the same rules used by the military in interrogating terrorism suspects, government officials said.

"We are not -- as I said in the inauguration -- going to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals," the president said this morning. He added, "The message we are sending around the world is that the US intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly, we are going to do so effectively, and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals ... We intend to win this fight, and we intend to win it on our terms."

D-Day joked, "Obama is really setting a bad precedent of keeping campaign promises and abiding by the rule of law. It's like the oath of office reboot, setting the horrible precedent of acknowledging mistakes and seeking to rectify them. Who does this guy think he is?"

Like Hilzoy, I was especially struck by the notion of winning the fight "on our terms." Not only is this the polar opposite of the ends-justify-the-means attitude that's undermined our national security strategy for far too long, it also means we're no longer going to fight on our enemies' terms:

Al Qaeda could never have destroyed our commitment to liberty, human rights, and the rule of law by itself. It could only hope that we would respond unthinkingly and do the dirty work ourselves. We obliged them, and in so doing did a lot more damage to ourselves than al Qaeda could ever have dreamed of doing.

It's wonderful to see that that has changed: that we have an administration that will not sacrifice the ideals America always ought to stand for, and will not allow our adversaries to dictate the terms and the terrain on which we will oppose them.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

[Peikko 1,575]

Doomed to failure. This will be seen by our 'enemies' as 'soft', terrorist attacks on US soil will resume and the GOP will regain the White house.

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

blah

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Doomed to failure. This will be seen by our 'enemies' as 'soft', terrorist attacks on US soil will resume and the GOP will regain the White house.

Here's a solution - we let out all the inmates and send them over to George Bush's ranch to work as day labour.

[Peikko 1,575]

It is a problem, what to do with the inmates. If they were not dangerous when they went in, they are probably are now and I really don't wish any harm to Mr Bush it would only create more ####### - Bush the martyr is not my idea of moving forwards...

[mawilson 2,133]

It is a problem, what to do with the inmates. If they were not dangerous when they went in, they are probably are now and I really don't wish any harm to Mr Bush it would only create more ####### - Bush the martyr is not my idea of moving forwards...

Send them back to Afghanistan where they will be supposedly (and hopefully) tortured and killed.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

They'll probably return them to their home countries.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Wrongly Accused Ex-Gitmo Chaplain and Spy Target James Yee

• James Yee. A Muslim Chaplain, was posted in Guantanamo Bay, in 2002, but less than a year after serving there, he was accused of espionage by the military and faced charges so severe, that he was threatened with the death penalty. Yee was locked away in a Navy prison in Charleston, South Carolina, spent 76 days in solitary confinement and was subject to abusive treatment. In 2004, the government dropped all charges against him and in October 2005, James Yee wrote a book about his experience called, “For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire.”

http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=18436

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Its the same thing with the German guy who was wrongfull arrested and subjected to extraordinary rendition and torture by proxy.

That's still ongoing in the courts I believe, but so far the CIA and by extension US Government won't recognise and compensate for the wrong it did to that man.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Former Guantánamo guard reunited with British detainees

A former Guantánamo Bay guard has joined forces with released detainees in Britain to expose the torture inflicted by interrogators at the camp.

The former soldier has kicked off a tour of Britain this week to talk about the techniques used by US interrogators and express his regret over the handling of inmates at the controversial detention camp, which Barack Obama has promised to close on taking office.

Chris Arendt, from Michigan, joined the army shortly after September 11, aged 17, and was sent to work as a guard in Guantánamo two years later, in 2003. After becoming disillusioned with what he saw there, he left the army and joined the campaign group Iraq Veterans Against the War. "It was like sitting down with a bunch of brothers," said Arendt about meeting a dozen former inmates in London yesterday. "It was really natural, a really organic fit." He said he was held in immigration for seven hours before being allowed to enter Britain as officials were suspicious that he might try to settle in the UK.

As a guest of the human rights group Cageprisoners, Arendt is to address 21 public meetings, including events in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and Liverpool, alongside former detainees.

Although a lawyer warned Arendt that he could be charged with treason, the former guard said he did not believe the US government would pursue him through the courts because Guantánamo had become so discredited.

"I've stayed off the grid since I started speaking out," he said. "I'm constantly changing my cell phone number."

Arendt said he felt compelled to speak out about the treatment of prisoners at the camp. Among techniques used to disorientate prisoners were "frequent flyer" programmes, whereby detainees would be moved from their cell every hour, night and day. The process was a lengthy one, he said, because of the "three-piece suits" the prisoners wore: three sets of shackles around their hands, waist and ankles.

Although he described some of his fellow guards as "psychotic", he added: "A lot of guys are not bad people; just regular guys – working class – doing their job, but what was definitely a minority saw it as a chance to go free-range and hog-wild about their fantasy of killing a 'raghead'. A lot of them wanted combat and were frustrated that they weren't in Iraq, so they made the environment as violent as they could."

Prisoners were shackled to the floors of their cells while loud music was blasted at them for hours, he added. "All I knew about Guantánamo Bay when I first went there was that there were iguanas and banana rats – they're gigantic – and there would be jet-skiing and scuba diving."

Arendt said he began to talk to inmates to learn about their lives. This was regarded as "fraternising with the enemy" and he was moved to different duties.

One former detainee, Tarek, with whom he has been reunited in England, he remembered instantly. "I'm never going to forget his face, I probably could have drawn it," Arendt said.

He recalled they had an argument over the number of sheets of toilet paper inmates were permitted.

The two have since got to know each other, Arendt said, adding: "It's been really cool having this dialogue." He said talking now about what had happened in the camp was hard: "I've had to admit a lot about my behaviour and I'm sick of hearing my own voice."

Moazzam Begg, a former Guantánamo detainee who is travelling with Arendt, said the experience of being reunited with a former guard had been "truly unique ... We embraced like brothers, like we knew one another." He said that while the public had become familiar with the experiences of detainees, the guards' stories were barely known.

The issue now, said Begg, was what was happening to the 250 or so remaining Guantánamo inmates. About 50 of them have been cleared by US authorities but there are no countries willing to take them. Begg said of all the European nations asked to accept former inmates, only Albania, which has so far allowed five to enter, had opened its doors. "The other countries need to put their money where their mouth is," he added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/1...itish-prisoners

[alienlovechild 75]

Chris Arendt, from Michigan, joined the army shortly after September 11, aged 17, and was sent to work as a guard in Guantánamo two years later, in 2003. After becoming disillusioned with what he saw there, he left the army and joined the campaign group Iraq Veterans Against the War. "It was like sitting down with a bunch of brothers," said Arendt about meeting a dozen former inmates in London yesterday. "It was really natural, a really organic fit." He said he was held in immigration for seven hours before being allowed to enter Britain as officials were suspicious that he might try to settle in the UK.

Disillusioned 19 year-old kid turned expert witness on Gitmo and so suspicious looking he was detained in the UK.

As a guest of the human rights group Cageprisoners, Arendt is to address 21 public meetings, including events in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and Liverpool, alongside former detainees.

Where does this guy get his money? I'm not saying he doesn't believe what he's saying but I'd almost anything for a free trip in Europe and lots of publicity.

"I've stayed off the grid since I started speaking out," he said. "I'm constantly changing my cell phone number."

Well, except for speaking tours, TV interviews and his job at Burger King.

Although he described some of his fellow guards as "psychotic", he added: "A lot of guys are not bad people; just regular guys – working class – doing their job, but what was definitely a minority saw it as a chance to go free-range and hog-wild about their fantasy of killing a 'raghead'. A lot of them wanted combat and were frustrated that they weren't in Iraq, so they made the environment as violent as they could."

Anybody can become a jerk as a guard. I have a hard time believing they couldn't get a transfer to Iraq if they were that hardcore.

Arendt said he began to talk to inmates to learn about their lives. This was regarded as "fraternising with the enemy" and he was moved to different duties.

That's SOP I believe.

Edited January 22, 2009 by alienlovechild

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Ireland Willing To Resettle Guantánamo Detainees

IRELAND WOULD be prepared to resettle Guantánamo Bay detainees if there was a common European Union approach on the issue, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern indicated yesterday.

Up to now, the Minister has been opposed to taking in detainees, but he said yesterday that President Barack Obama’s initiative in suspending military trials at Guantánamo had created “a new context”.

“I believe that there should be a united and positive response at EU level to any request made by the new US administration for help in bringing about the closure of Guantánamo.

“Ireland will participate fully in discussions at European level on this matter,” the Minister said.

“While all countries will have to have regard to difficult security issues which arise, Ireland would, of course, be prepared to play its full part in any common action being taken by the EU in responding to a US request for assistance in achieving the objective of closing down Guantánamo,” the Minister for Justice added.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin had previously suggested that Ireland should follow the example of Portugal and other European countries which indicated their willingness to resettle inmates.

“My view is that it would be the logical sequential consequence of our arguing for the closure of Guantánamo,” Mr Martin told The Irish Times .

“From our perspective, no one is talking about terrorists or anything like that coming to EU countries. We’re talking about non-combatants, people who clearly have no history of any terrorist activity.”

Mr Ahern said in the Dáil at the time that the resettlement of exonerated detainees was not being considered.

But speaking yesterday, the Minister for Justice said: “The priority which President Obama is giving to closing Guantánamo is very welcome and creates a new context in which this matter can be addressed.”

Amnesty International Ireland has welcomed Mr Ahern’s comments on Guantánamo. Executive director Colm O’Gorman said: “Approximately 50 prisoners have been cleared for release from Guantánamo Bay Detention Centre but cannot be returned to their home countries because they are at risk of torture or death.

“For months Amnesty International Ireland has been lobbying the Irish Government to assist in closing down Guantánamo by accepting some of these prisoners, one of whom, Oybek Jabbarov, is an Uzbek national who has been held for over seven years.”

SOURCE: Irish Times

[mawilson 2,133]

Here's a thought - just set them free. See if they can get out of Cuba on their own.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Ex-Guantanamo Prisoner Rebuilds Life in Albania

A Chinese Uighur, relocated to Tirana following his release from Guantanamo in 2006, says there can be no 'closure' for him until Barack Obama fulfills his promise to close the detention centre.

....

"The first thing Obama should do is shut it down because the American people and the rest of the world don't want it anymore," said Abu Bakr Qassim, speaking of the detention centre where he and dozens of other fellow Uighurs were dispatched after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.

"It will be welcome news for us but also for the American people because it will lift the doubts that Guantanamo has created about American democracy," he added.

Casualties of the 'War on Terror':

When Abu Bakr left home in China's Xingjian province in 2001, his dream was to reach Western Europe, or, preferably, the United States.

He joined a larger group of would-be migrants of 17 as they set off through the neighbouring Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

In the winter of 2001, they arrived in the Afghan city of Jalalabad only days before the start of a US bombing campaign aimed at overthrowing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Within days of their arrival, Jalalabad was being bombed by US fighter jets, so they left to seek sanctuary in neighbouring Pakistan.

Little did they know that the villagers that would greet them warmly on the other side of the border had, only a few days earlier, been targeted by masses of fliers dropped by US planes, promising that whosoever "hunts an Arab becomes a rich man".

Though they had no knowledge of, let alone a hand in, the September 11 attacks, the men were handed over to the Pakistan authorities for the promised reward of $5,000. They would spend the next four months in jail in Pakistan before being sent to Guantanamo Bay.

"We were 20 on the plane, all bound and shackled and with the now infamous orange jumpsuits," remembers Abu Bakr. "At that point, we understood that we were flying into hell,"

The Uighurs would spend the next five years until their release in an iron cage at Camp Delta.

"Even when they found out that we were innocent, they would not release us," said Abu Bakr. "In Guantanamo, the laws are neither communist nor democrat; they don't exist at all."

http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=27565

Edited January 22, 2009 by Mister Fancypants

[NickD 203]

Main objection of some, sure in the hell isn't me, is that by closing Guantanamo Bay will show the world that the USA is becoming weak and terrorism will increase.

Just forgetting a few basic facts, the worse terrorists that are caught, fight back and are blown to hell, the ones that hide in deep caves, well we have earth penetrating bombs to deal with those. The really bad ones, we don't catch at all, they in the process of killing even their own people blow themselves to hell thinking they are going to get a virgin or something.

So exactly who is brought to Guantanamo? Those that do not fight back or kill themselves, but are under suspicion and instead of trying to wring out false confessions from them and detain them for years, more than likely, they will be brought to the USA and tried in a court of law like any other criminal. Provided the accusers have sufficient evidence to charge them with a crime. This is what is severely lacking with the 245 some odd detainees as they call them in Guantanamo.

I am not proud of this act and can only wonder how long Cheney or Bush would last with just a scare of common tools like an electric drill with a 1" spur bit, a chain saw, and an acetylene torch. Without even touching them. Bet they would both sign confessions that they are a$$holes in less than two minutes. And like that HBO special stated about torture, even the waterboard kind or being tied up in a chair naked for hours and not permitted to sleep, would make a terrorist out of anyone. Torture in history never did work.

"WASHINGTON (AP) - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to that attack and a chilling string of other terror plots during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a transcript released Wednesday by the Pentagon. "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," Mohammed said in a statement read during the session, which was held last Saturday.

The transcripts also refer to a claim by Mohammed that he was tortured by the CIA, although he said he was not under duress at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo when he confessed to his role in the attacks.

In a section of the statement that was blacked out, he confessed to the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, The Associated Press has learned. Pearl was abducted in January 2002 in Pakistan while researching a story on Islamic militancy. Mohammed has long been a suspect in the killing.

Using his own words, the extraordinary transcript connects Mohammed to dozens of the worst terror plots attempted or carried out in the last 15 years—and to others that have not occurred. All told, thousands have died in operations he directed.

His words draw al-Qaida closer to plots of the early 1990s than the group has previously been connected to, including the 1993 World Trade Center truck bombing. Six people with links to global terror networks were convicted in federal court and sentenced to life in prison.

It also makes clear that al-Qaida wanted to down a second trans- Atlantic aircraft during would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid's operation.

Mohammed said he was involved in planning the 2002 bombing of a Kenya beach resort frequented by Israelis and the failed missile attack on an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya. He also said he was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia. In 2002, 202 were killed when two Bali nightclubs were bombed.

Other plots he said he was responsible for included planned attacks against the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Empire State Building and New York Stock Exchange, the Panama Canal and Big Ben and Heathrow Airport in London—none of which happened.

He said he was involved in planning assassination attempts against former Presidents Carter and Clinton, attacks on U.S. nuclear power plants and suspension bridges in New York, the destruction of American and Israeli embassies in Asia and Australia, attacks on American naval vessels and oil tankers around the world, and an attempt to "destroy" an oil company he said was owned by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Sumatra, Indonesia.

He also claimed he shared responsibility for assassination attempts against Pope John Paul II and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

In all, Mohammed said he was responsible for planning 28 attacks and assisting in three others. The comments were included in a 26-page transcript released by the Pentagon, which blacked out some of his remarks.

Mohammed also claimed he was tortured by the CIA after his capture in according to an exchange he had with the unidentified military colonel who heads the three-member panel that heard his case.

"Is any statement that you made, was it because of this treatment, to use your word, you claim torture," the colonel asked. "Do you make any statements because of that?"

Portions of Mohammed's response were deleted from the transcript, and his immediate answer was unclear. He later said his confession read at the hearing to the long list of attacks was given without any pressure, threats or duress.

The colonel said Mohammed's torture allegations would be "reported for any investigation that may be appropriate" and also would be taken into account in consideration of his enemy combatant status.

In one rambling remark apparently spoken through a translator, Mohammed appeared to express some regret for some of the casualties of 9/11.

"When I said I'm not happy that 3,000 been killed in America, I feel sorry even. I don't like to kill children and the kids," the transcript said.

The Pentagon also released transcripts of the hearings of Abu Faraj al-Libi and Ramzi Binalshibh. Both refused to attended the hearings, though al-Libi submitted a statement.

Binalshibh, a Yemeni, is suspected of helping Mohammed with the Sept. 11, 2001, attack plan and is also linked to a foiled plot to crash aircraft into London's Heathrow Airport. Al-Libi is a Libyan who reportedly masterminded two bombings 11 days apart in Pakistan in December 2003 that targeted Musharraf for his support of the U.S.-led war on terror.

The hearings, which began last Friday, are being conducted in secret by the military as it tries to determine whether 14 alleged terrorist leaders should be declared "enemy combatants" who can be held indefinitely and prosecuted by military tribunals.

If, as expected, the 14 are declared enemy combatants, the military would then draft and file charges against them. The detainees would then be tried under the new military commissions law signed by President Bush in October.

Hearings for six of the 14 have already been held, though only three transcripts have been released. The military is not allowing reporters to attend the sessions and is limiting the information it provides about them, arguing that it wants to prevent sensitive information from being disclosed.

The 14 were moved in September from a secret CIA prison network to the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, where about 385 men are being held on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Mohammed's confession was read at the hearing by a member of the U.S. military who is serving as his personal representative.

The transcripts also lay out evidence against Mohammed, saying that a computer seized during his capture included detailed information about the Sept. 11 plot—ranging from names and photos of the hijackers to photos of hijacker Mohammad Atta's pilot's license and even letters from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Al-Libi made a statement through his personal representative largely claiming that the hearing process is unfair and that he will not attend unless it is corrected.

"The detainee is in a lose-lose situation," his statement said.

Binalshibh's hearing was conducted in his absence. Military officials expected some of the 14 suspects not to participate.

Legal experts have criticized the U.S. decision to bar independent observers from the hearings from the high-value targets. The Associated Press filed a letter of protest, arguing that it would be "an unconstitutional mistake to close the proceedings in their entirety."

Mark Denbeaux, a Seton Hall University law professor who represents two Tunisians held at Guantanamo, said that based on the transcripts, Mohammed might be the only detainee who would qualify as an enemy combatant.

"The government has finally brought someone into Gitmo who apparently admits to being someone who could be called an enemy combatant," Denbeaux, a critic of most of the detentions, said in a telephone interview from London. "None of the others rise to this level. The government has now got one."

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, questioned the legality of the closed-door session and confession and whether the confession was the result of torture.

"We won't know that unless there is an independent hearing," he said. "We need to know if this purported confession would be enough to convict him at a fair trial or would it have to be suppressed as the fruit of torture?"

The military held 558 combatant status review tribunals between July 2004 and March 2005 and the panels concluded that all but 38 detainees were enemy combatants who should be held. Those 38 were eventually released from Guantanamo"

So what about Osama binLaden? Is there any question about Bushs' well known relationship with the binLaden family? Blood is still thicker than water.

Is bad enough going through airport lines or dealing with the USCIS because you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent let to be pulled away from your family and tortured for years.