In yet another failure to honor its promises to civil libertarians, the Obama Administration has failed to honor its own deadline for the submission of a report on its policy for the detention of terror suspects. The report was expected to give details on Obama’s promise to shutdown the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Obama has reportedly decided to give his Administration another six months.
The delay occurs at a time when the Administration has been adopting, and in some cases expanding, Bush terror policies. This includes the statement of Administration officials that, even if a detainee is acquitted in court, President Obama retained the right to hold the detainee indefinitely under his own authority.
Obama officials insist that they are making progress but simply need more time. However, when combined with the failure to order an investigation into the torture program (without outcome determinative limitations), the delay is seen as additional evidence of the reluctance of the Obama Administration to follow its clear legal obligations in this area. These detainees should not have been placed in a make-shift legal system in the first place. They should be transferred to our legal system and charged with any crimes alleged by the Administration. Instead, the Administration continues the Bush approach of rigging the system — creating special rules for detainees who would likely prevail in a fair trial.
For the full story, click here.
You’re welcome. Other people’s lives have to matter to us. Mr. Peace Prize is, by all accounts, expected to call for a 50% increase in troop levels. When other people are being killed, maimed and tortured we must be willing to give up our illusions about Obama. Illusions aren’t acceptable under these circumstances. Protests are planned against the troop increases. Veterans for Peace is one such group but there are many others.
Jill,
Thanks for taking the time to search for and update this thread.
Even Mr. Obama’ staunchest supporters must see the abject hypocrisy with this and other policies of the Obama Administration.
This is unacceptable. We have to look past rhetoric to actual events. Other people’s lives depend on us being honest about this govt.
“They were to be disappointed. A year after Obama’s election win, Al Jazeera has learnt that despite the new president’s pledge to close the prison and improve the conditions of detainees held by the US military, prisoners believe that their treatment has deteriorated on his watch.
Authorities at the prison deny mistreating the inmates, but interviews with former detainees, letters from current prisoners and sworn testimony from independent medical experts who have visited the prison have painted a disturbing picture of psychological and physical abuse very much at odds with White House rhetoric on prisoner treatment.”
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/11/10-0
Here is another case of the Obama administration refusing to argue a case on its merits, this being an extremely important case, as in effect, the DOJ has ended up suspending the right of habeas corpus. This comes via Andy Worthington who is one of the go-to people for information we never see about our detainees.
“Two weeks ago, the indefatigable Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald, Guantánamo’s most dedicated reporter, outlined the story of Umar Abdulayev, the last Tajik prisoner in Guantánamo, who has been cleared for release from the prison on two occasions — once by a military review board under the Bush administration, and six weeks ago by the Obama administration’s inter-departmental Guantánamo Task Force, established by President Obama on his second day in office…
{DOJ} lawyers informed Judge Reggie Walton on June 3 that they “will no longer defend his detention, and want US diplomats to arrange to repatriate him.”
However, as Abdulayev’s lawyers explained, there were two fundamental problems with this decision. The first, as Andrew Moss explained to me last week, is that the Task Force’s decision led immediately to a request from the Justice Department to indefinitely stay Abdulayev’s habeas appeal, on the basis that “there was now nothing more the court could do” for him. As Moss explained, “The court granted that request over our opposition,” which was based on the fact that the Task Force’s decision was “not a determination that [Abdulayev’s] detention was or was not lawful,” and that it therefore “does nothing towards removing the stigma of being held in Guantánamo or being accused of being a terrorist by the United States.”
The result, as Andrew Moss stated bluntly, is that the writ of habeas corpus, granted to the prisoners by the US Supreme Court last June, is “effectively suspended.”
This is a disturbing development, not only because it deprives Abdulayev of the opportunity to be cleared publicly by a court (as opposed to being cleared by an unaccountable Executive review that reaches its conclusions in private), but also because it does not address a second problem for Abdulayev; namely, that he is terrified of being returned to Tajikistan.”
http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/07/21/obamas-failure-to-deliver-justice-to-the-last-tajik-in-guantanamo/
Mike,
Well said.
If you were feeling that you were all alone, dont.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congressional Democrats warned President Barack Obama on Tuesday that he sounded too much like George W. Bush when he declared this summer that the White House can ignore legislation he thinks oversteps the Constitution.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D99IVL480&show_article=1
No wonder they had such a easy transition. One moves out and the next one moves in.
Let’s not forget about the covert operations taking place on U.S. soil — operations that have not yet been exposed. Is this really America?
seamus,
That’s exactly what I was thinking listening to Gates. The man knows full well we torture people we capture. Yes, I’m glad he is speaking out on behalf of our guy, but what credibility do we have?
One of the saddest part of the film, “Torturing Democracy” was when one of our detainees who had been released said something like, “what happens when this is the Americans doing this to you? They are supposed to save you from this and they’re doing it. Who’s going to come? ”
Here’s info from the CCR:
“Dear CCR Supporter,
I’m writing to you today about a matter of critical importance. The U.S. Senate is in the process of debating the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2010. The NDAA currently includes a provision that bans the use of private military contractors from conducting interrogations of detainees. Also, an amendment to the bill could require the video recording of all interrogations.
The White House is opposed to the provision that bans the use of private contractors from conducting interrogations and is also opposed to any amendment requiring video recording. There is a possibility that these elements could be stripped from the bill. Tell the Senate to keep them in.”
http://ccrjustice.org/
On a some what related note. I physically cringed when I heard Sec. of State Hillary Clinton demanding that capture U.S. soilder Howe Bergdahl be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions by his captors. I mean, it’s pretty funny to think of what we’ll do to them when(if) we catch them.
I was really amused after all the pictures of captured al qiada, taliban etc. , when I thought about the absolute disgust, honor and protest W had when Lindsey “What’s Her Name” , and her comrads where shown on t.v. during our most rcent invasion of Iraq. Protests of Geneva Convention violations for showing them on T.V. recieving treatment at a hospital. wow.
Years ago I read a book called “They Fought Like Lions” about the Zulu wars in Natal. (good book) There was an exchange that always stuck in my mind where some Zulus had been captured and the British soilders were getting ready to torture them to death. The Brits were extremely upset because of the really grusome way the Zulus torture any captured British.
Anyway, the Zulu prisoners protested before the torture began and in essense said, “Hey, what are you doing?? You guys don’t torture your prisoners to death for fun.”
The Brits basically replied, “The F_ck you say, you guys torture us to death when you catch us!!!”
And the Zulus replied, “Yeah, but we’re Zulus, that what we always do, you knew that when you started this war. But you guys don’t do that to you prisoners, so, you know, this really doesn’t seem fair.”
The Zulu’s argument won the day, and the British decided they were British and not Zulus after
all.
Odd that we seem to be less enlightened than the colonial forces of Imperial Britain. Who were, perhaps,not such nice guys.