On Wednesday, four prisoners were released from Guantánamo: an Egyptian, a Libyan and a Tunisian arrived in Albania, and a Palestinian arrived in Spain. All four had been cleared by military review boards at Guantánamo under the Bush administration, and had then been cleared by President Obama’s interagency Task Force, but, like dozens of prisoners in Guantánamo, they could not be repatriated because of fears that they would be tortured if returned to their home countries or subjected to other ill-treatment, or because they were effectively stateless.
February 25, 2010 | Filed under
Law |
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With attempted terrorist Najibullah Zazi pleading guilty to three criminal charges before a federal judge in New York, Attorney General Eric Holder says that Zazi’s case proves that the US Justice Department can effectively prosecute terrorists. And he noted during a news conference Monday following the guilty plea that the trial of self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators could still be held in New York City, despite widespread opposition from Republicans and Democrats.
February 24, 2010 | Filed under
Law |
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As evidenced by the recent outpouring of generous support for the people of Haiti, America remains a caring and compassionate nation. But when it comes to human rights and the rule of law, the United States falls woefully short, trailing behind the rest of the civilized world. Case in point, the U.S. government is seriously considering indefinite detentions for some Guantanamo detainees.
February 19, 2010 | Filed under
Commentary |
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On Wednesday evening, the Associated Press reported that, in court filings, Justice Department lawyers stated that Attorney General Eric Holder has decided that a sixth Guantánamo prisoner — an Afghan named Obaidullah — will be put forward for trial by Military Commission.
January 7, 2010 | Filed under
Law |
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Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the corporate “mainstream” media make quite a pair. We’re hearing a very “balanced” debate over whether KSM should be tried in New York City, and whether the most insane objections to that proposal are really insane or not. But what are we not hearing?
November 19, 2009 | Filed under
Commentary |
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In a recent article, I examined the implications of an announcement that 75 of the remaining 223 prisoners in Guantánamo have been cleared for release. This came by way of a list posted in the prison, identifying the prisoners by nationality, and a statement by a military spokesman, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brook DeWalt, who explained, “It was an opportunity to just provide better communication. There’s a lot of information out there and you get a lot of things from a lot of different angles. It helps put it in a more succinct context for them [the prisoners].”
October 13, 2009 | Filed under
World |
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Foreign intelligence agencies have been holding back their liaison activities and their cooperation with the CIA because of the crimes associated with secret prisons, torture and abuse, and extraordinary renditions. It is quite unbelievable that CIA leaders decided to compromise the governments and intelligence services of the European community by locating secret prisons and using logistical facilities within their borders. It is very unlikely that any member of the European Union will cooperate with such CIA activities in the future.
September 23, 2009 | Filed under
Commentary |
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Seven former directors of the CIA sent a letter to President Barack Obama Friday asking him to take the unprecedented step of personally blocking an investigation authorized by Attorney General Eric Holder into cases where agency officers and contractors allegedly exceeded legal guidelines during the interrogations of “war on terror” detainees.
September 19, 2009 | Filed under
Law |
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The Washington Post’s David Ignatius simply cannot get off the wheel he spins for the Central Intelligence Agency. Only two days after the release of the 2004 CIA study of the detention and interrogation program, which provides sordid and sadistic details of an illegal and immoral program, Ignatius still opposes any criminal review of the [...]
August 26, 2009 | Filed under
Commentary |
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Attorney General Eric Holder appointed a special prosecutor Monday to conduct a “preliminary review” of about a dozen cases of torture involving “war on terror” detainees carried out during the Bush administration’s tenure in office. Those cases had been previously closed by Justice Department attorneys for unknown reasons.
His announcement was made shortly before the [...]
August 24, 2009 | Filed under
Torture |
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