Did Coca-Cola pressure law firm out of DOMA defense?
April 26, 2011 by admin
Did Coca-Cola pressure law firm out of DOMA defense?
So they’re endorsing Gitmo terrorists, then?
What made King & Spalding beat a cowardly retreat from their client, the House of Representatives, and abandon their defense of DOMA? According to TPMDC, the Left may not have scored a scalp after all, at least not directly. Brian Beutler reports that the law firm’s corporate clients objected to the decision to represent the [...]
The White House and Guantanamo
April 26, 2011 by admin
The White House and Guantanamo
Today the Washington Post published a lengthy investigation into administration’s failure to close Guantanamo Bay, and its findings won’t be a surprise to anyone who was skeptical of Obama’s vow to shutter the detention center.
Obama’s plan ran into the predictable obstacles. From a practical standpoint, many Guantanamo detainees simply couldn’t be prosecuted because much of the evidence against them couldn’t be introduced at trial. There were also the exorbitant security costs of trying high-profile detainees in civilian courts. And then there was the growing political opposition in congress.
According to the Post, the White House never really put up a fight:
The one theme that repeatedly emerged in interviews was a belief that the White House never pressed hard enough on what was supposed to be a signature goal. Although the closure of Guantanamo Bay was announced in an executive order, which Obama signed on Jan. 22, 2009, the fanfare never translated into the kind of political push necessary to sustain the policy. “Vulnerable senators weren’t going out on a limb and risk being Willie Hortonized on Gitmo when the White House, with the most to lose, wasn’t even twisting arms,” said a senior Democratic aide whose boss was one of 50 Democrats to vote in 2009 against funding to close Guantanamo.
There are two possible conclusions that can be drawn from this. The first is that Obama never really believed his own overblown rhetoric about Gitmo being a major national security threat. If that’s the case, it explains why he never really pushed to close the facility. The second is that he does believe the detention center is a huge risk, but decided that his own political future (and the future of his party) was more important.
Both scenarios indicate enormous political cowardice and a disregard for the American people. Obama’s reelection campaign will soon be out in full force, and he’ll probably be making a lot of new promises—but it’s work remembering the ones he didn’t keep, and maybe never intended to.
Roughly 200 Released Gitmo Detainees Were “High Risk”
April 25, 2011 by admin
Roughly 200 Released Gitmo Detainees Were “High Risk”
One piece of information that stands out from the latest trove of leaked documents on Guantanamo Bay out is the high number of “high risk” detainees who have been released or transferred into the custody of foreign countries:
The secret documents, made available to The New York Times and several other news organizations, reveal that most of the 172 remaining prisoners have been rated as a “high risk” of posing a threat to the United States and its allies if released without adequate rehabilitation and supervision. But they also show that an even larger number of the prisoners who have left Cuba – about a third of the 600 already transferred to other countries – were also designated “high risk” before they were freed or passed to the custody of other governments.
This may explain the recidivism rate we’ve seen over the past few years. The Bush administration released or transferred 532 prisoners and the Obama administration has released or transferred 68 detainees. A total of 82 former detainees have returned to terrorism, according the latest Pentagon calculations.
The documents also confirm what critics of closing Guantanamo Bay have been saying all along. Since most of the remaining 172 prisoners are considered high-risk, the administration is caught in a situation where it’s unable to prosecute the majority of prisoners in civilian court, and would also face a major risk by releasing them. This leaves Obama with no other option but to keep the detention center open.
Massive leak reveals Guantánamo’s secrets (Guardian)
April 25, 2011 by admin
Massive leak reveals Guantánamo’s secrets (Guardian)
Guardian:
Massive leak reveals Guantánamo’s secrets — • Innocent people interrogated for years on slimmest pretexts — • Children, elderly and mentally ill among those wrongfully held — • 172 prisoners remain, some with no prospect of trial or release — • Interactive guide to all 779 detainees
The suicide stunts at Gitmo revisited
April 25, 2011 by admin
The suicide stunts at Gitmo revisited
Classified Files Offer New Insights Into Detainees (New York Times)
April 24, 2011 by admin
Classified Files Offer New Insights Into Detainees (New York Times)
New York Times:
Classified Files Offer New Insights Into Detainees — WASHINGTON — A trove of more than 700 classified military documents provides new and detailed accounts of the men who have done time at the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba, and offers new insight into the evidence against the 172 men still locked up there.
In a Reversal, Military Trials for 9/11 Cases (Charlie Savage/New York Times)
April 4, 2011 by admin
In a Reversal, Military Trials for 9/11 Cases (Charlie Savage/New York Times)
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
In a Reversal, Military Trials for 9/11 Cases — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, ending more than a year of indecision with a major policy reversal, will prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other people accused of plotting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks before a military commission …
Prisoner of life’s circumstances
April 4, 2011 by admin
Prisoner of life’s circumstances
(Scott)
The news of the day is that the Obama adminsitration has announced that it is going to try KSM before a military court at Guantánamo. It’s the greatest anticlimax since Harpo Marx burst the bubble covering Sally Rand in the nude only to reveal her nudity protected by a wooden barrel.
The decision is correct, but Obama wants it known that he does not deserve the credit for it. Rather, the decision simply reflects “steep new restrictions on transferring any detainees from Guantánamo Bay onto United States soil, making such a trial impossible.” The decision is grudging.
The New York Times calls the decision “a major reversal.” Obama supported trying KSM in federal district court. Hey, according to Obama during the campaign, even the Nazi war criminials tried at Nuremberg got their day in court! I wonder if anyone has yet broken him the news that they were tried by a military commission with no appeal and no recourse to the federal courts. It would undoubtedly come as a great shock to him.
Obama made his position on this point something of an insufferable cause. Eric Holder drew up an absurd little list of factors rationalizing the decision to try KSM in federal district court in New York. It was only yesterday that Obama was saying:
“There is also no question that Guantanamo set back the moral authority that is America’s strongest currency in the world. Instead of building a durable framework for the struggle against al Qaeda that drew upon our deeply held values and traditions, our government was defending positions that undermined the rule of law…instead of serving as a tool to counter-terrorism, Guantanamo became a symbol that helped al Qaeda recruit terrorists to its cause. Indeed, the existence of Guantanamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained. So the record is clear: rather than keep us safer, the prison at Guantanamo has weakened American national security.”
And this:
“Too often – our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford.”
And this:
“In other words, we went off course. And this is not my assessment alone. It was an assessment that was shared by the American people, who nominated candidates for President from both major parties who, despite our many differences, called for a new approach – one that rejected torture, and recognized the imperative of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.”
If Obama doesn’t deserve credit for the decision, others do. I guess we can thank congressional Republicans for this moment of sanity.
KSM to be tried by military commission at Gitmo; Holder set to make announcement today (Stephanie Condon/CBS News)
April 4, 2011 by admin
KSM to be tried by military commission at Gitmo; Holder set to make announcement today (Stephanie Condon/CBS News)
Stephanie Condon / CBS News:
KSM to be tried by military commission at Gitmo; Holder set to make announcement today — Attorney General Eric Holder today will announce that self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad will be tried in a military commission, CBS News has learned.
Obama administration retreats (again) on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed civilian trial; Holder blames Congress
April 4, 2011 by admin
Obama administration retreats (again) on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed civilian trial; Holder blames Congress
