Meeting with the Victim's Families

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

President Obama met for over an hour yesterday with about 40 relatives of terror victims -- both from the 9/11 attacks and the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole -- in which he assured them that the terror suspect would face "a swift and certain justice." Some of the family members had been publicly critical of the administration's decision to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, but the NYT reported that Obama pledged to the families "that the terror cases would be reviewed and handled through the courts."

John Clodfelter of Mechanicsville, Va., whose son, Kenneth, was killed in the Cole bombing, said he came to the meeting with apprehension over the decision to close the prison and the delay in prosecutions. But after listening to the president and being assured that the terror suspects would not be released, Mr. Clodfelter said his opinion changed.

"I did not vote for the man, but the way he talks to you, you can't help but believe in him," Mr. Clodfelter said on Friday evening. "He left me with a very positive feeling that he's going to get this done right."

The president and his advisers are reviewing the cases, aides said, to ensure that the 245 suspects at Guantanamo Bay are afforded their legal rights. The review will determine whether the terror suspects will be and tried in U.S. courts or dispatched to other countries for prosecution.

Retired Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, who represents victims of the Cole and was the commanding officer of the vessel at the time of the attack in 2000, has disagreed with the decision to close the prison. But in an interview after the meeting, he said he was very pleased with the president's explanation and commitment to bringing the suspects to justice.

"It went far better than I had imagined," Commander Lippold said Friday evening. "I was surprised with how well it went."

I'm often surprised, just in casual conversations with people who don't work in politics or media, about the sense that Obama would close Gitmo and simply release the detainees. There's apparently an impression that the president would right Bush's wrongs by opening the door and announcing, "You're all free to go."

It's not nearly as controversial when those concerned hear the whole story.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Guantanamo worse since Obama election: ex-detainee

A freed Guantanamo prisoner has said conditions at the US detention camp in Cuba have worsened since President Barack Obama was elected, claiming guards wanted to "take their last revenge".

Binyam Mohamed, the first detainee to be transferred out of Guantanamo Bay since Obama took office, also said British agents "sold me out" by cooperating with his alleged torturers, in his first interview since release which was published Sunday.

Mohamed, a 30-year-old Ethiopian-born former British resident, gave further details of what he has called the "medieval" torture he faced in Pakistan and Morocco, as well as in a secret CIA prison in Kabul and at Guantanamo.

"The result of my experience is that I feel emotionally dead," he told the Mail on Sunday newspaper. "It seems like a miracle my brain is still intact."

Far from improving, Mohamed said conditions at Guantanamo have worsened since Obama was elected in November.

The US president had promised during his campaign to shut down the Guantanamo prison and two days after taking office announced it would close this year.

"Since the election it's got harsher," Mohamed told the newspaper. "The guards would say, 'yes, this place is going to close down,' but it was like they wanted to take their last revenge."

He also claimed the Emergency Reaction Force at Guantanamo, a team which he said punishes inmates in their cells and once almost gouged his eyes out when he declined to give his fingerprints, is now being used more often.

Mohamed said he was beaten at Guantanamo and also described mistreatment at other detention centres.

He said his chest and ####### were slashed with razors while he was held in Morocco.

In Afghanistan, he said he lived in constant darkness for five months and "came close to insanity" after being forced to listen to the same album by rapper Eminem at a deafening volume for a solid month.

He flew back to Britain last month, tasting freedom for the first time since 2002 when he was arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of attending an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and plotting to build a radioactive "dirty bomb".

But the United States never charged him, and British police also questioned him on his return and let him go free.

In the newspaper interview, Mohamed gave further details of his claim that British officials had colluded in his alleged torture.

He said while he was in Morocco in 2002, his Moroccan interrogators "started bringing British files to the interrogations... it was obvious the British were feeding them questions about people in London.

"When I realised that the British were cooperating with the people torturing me, I felt completely naked," he said. "They sold me out."

He said he subsequently made false confessions about one plot to build a "dirty" nuclear bomb and another to blow up apartments in New York linked to alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The paper also quoted two telegrams, shown to Mohamed by his military lawyer, from Britain's MI5 security service to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in November 2002. They allegedly detail specific questions that the British wanted to be put to Mohamed.

"We note that we have also requested that briefs be put to Binyam Mohamed and would appreciate a guide from you as to the likely timescale for these too," one is quoted as saying.

"We fully appreciate that this can be a long-winded process but the urgent nature of these enquiries will be obvious to you."

In response to the claims, Britain's Foreign Office released a statement saying: "We abhor torture and never order it or condone it...

"In the case of Binyam Mohamed, an allegation of possible criminal wrong-doing has been referred to the Attorney General. We need now to wait for her report."

Mohamed is undergoing therapy to come to terms with his experiences.

Looking to the future, he said he wanted to stay in Britain, which is currently considering whether to let him remain. "It's the only place I can call home," he said.

In an editorial, this week's Independent on Sunday said his case was "only the most dreadful of many instances where the British government's policy seems to have been to turn a blind eye".

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CN...;show_article=1

[Ban Hammer 13,355]

and we thought things would get better with obama.

[Marilyn. 340]

Guantanamo worse since Obama election: ex-detainee

A freed Guantanamo prisoner has said conditions at the US detention camp in Cuba have worsened since President Barack Obama was elected, claiming guards wanted to "take their last revenge".

Binyam Mohamed, the first detainee to be transferred out of Guantanamo Bay since Obama took office, also said British agents "sold me out" by cooperating with his alleged torturers, in his first interview since release which was published Sunday.

Mohamed, a 30-year-old Ethiopian-born former British resident, gave further details of what he has called the "medieval" torture he faced in Pakistan and Morocco, as well as in a secret CIA prison in Kabul and at Guantanamo.

"The result of my experience is that I feel emotionally dead," he told the Mail on Sunday newspaper. "It seems like a miracle my brain is still intact."

Far from improving, Mohamed said conditions at Guantanamo have worsened since Obama was elected in November.

The US president had promised during his campaign to shut down the Guantanamo prison and two days after taking office announced it would close this year.

"Since the election it's got harsher," Mohamed told the newspaper. "The guards would say, 'yes, this place is going to close down,' but it was like they wanted to take their last revenge."

He also claimed the Emergency Reaction Force at Guantanamo, a team which he said punishes inmates in their cells and once almost gouged his eyes out when he declined to give his fingerprints, is now being used more often.

Mohamed said he was beaten at Guantanamo and also described mistreatment at other detention centres.

He said his chest and ####### were slashed with razors while he was held in Morocco.

In Afghanistan, he said he lived in constant darkness for five months and "came close to insanity" after being forced to listen to the same album by rapper Eminem at a deafening volume for a solid month.

He flew back to Britain last month, tasting freedom for the first time since 2002 when he was arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of attending an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and plotting to build a radioactive "dirty bomb".

But the United States never charged him, and British police also questioned him on his return and let him go free.

In the newspaper interview, Mohamed gave further details of his claim that British officials had colluded in his alleged torture.

He said while he was in Morocco in 2002, his Moroccan interrogators "started bringing British files to the interrogations... it was obvious the British were feeding them questions about people in London.

"When I realised that the British were cooperating with the people torturing me, I felt completely naked," he said. "They sold me out."

He said he subsequently made false confessions about one plot to build a "dirty" nuclear bomb and another to blow up apartments in New York linked to alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The paper also quoted two telegrams, shown to Mohamed by his military lawyer, from Britain's MI5 security service to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in November 2002. They allegedly detail specific questions that the British wanted to be put to Mohamed.

"We note that we have also requested that briefs be put to Binyam Mohamed and would appreciate a guide from you as to the likely timescale for these too," one is quoted as saying.

"We fully appreciate that this can be a long-winded process but the urgent nature of these enquiries will be obvious to you."

In response to the claims, Britain's Foreign Office released a statement saying: "We abhor torture and never order it or condone it...

"In the case of Binyam Mohamed, an allegation of possible criminal wrong-doing has been referred to the Attorney General. We need now to wait for her report."

Mohamed is undergoing therapy to come to terms with his experiences.

Looking to the future, he said he wanted to stay in Britain, which is currently considering whether to let him remain. "It's the only place I can call home," he said.

In an editorial, this week's Independent on Sunday said his case was "only the most dreadful of many instances where the British government's policy seems to have been to turn a blind eye".

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CN...;show_article=1

how is this Obama's fault?? it is the guards who are trying to get their last revenge while they can before the prison closes that are at fault here...

[mkg265 2]

I concur with Marilyn. If I'm fired from my job and beat my co-worker on the head as I leave, how is that my employer's fault?

Gitmo closed but what about that family immigration detention center in Texas? I always found that the greater of evils.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

how is this Obama's fault?? it is the guards who are trying to get their last revenge while they can before the prison closes that are at fault here...

That seems to be my impression, if you believe the accounts of the former detainee. Hopefully, the facility has not become a forgotten child in the meantime. I am sure this account will inspire an investigation.

Edited March 9, 2009 by Mister_Bill

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I concur with Marilyn. If I'm fired from my job and beat my co-worker on the head as I leave, how is that my employer's fault?

Gitmo closed but what about that family immigration detention center in Texas? I always found that the greater of evils.

It's not closed yet. Gitmo will remain open for at least the remainder of this year.

[natty bumppo 297]

President Obama met for over an hour yesterday with about 40 relatives of terror victims -- both from the 9/11 attacks and the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole --

Only 40 relatives out of the thousands of people who died ?!?