Great news everybody:
We’re screwed (but I guess you already figured that out)
Apparently, only a day after Obama suspended all military tribunal proceedings, there has been a draft to close guantanamo presented to him. The order requires the prison to be closed within one year but there aren’t any details as to what will happen to the detainees thus far.
Not surprisingly this decision has the defenders of the terrorists and the Europeans (I know, I know… same thing) cheering:
“It is a major positive step in the right direction,” said Jamil Dakwar, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who was observing pretrial hearings at Guantanamo this week.
The decision was also welcomed by the European Union, which repeatedly criticized the Bush administration over alleged human rights abuses at Guantanamo as well as for the military commissions.
The European Commission “has been very pleased that one of the first actions of Mr. Obama has been to turn the page on this sad episode of Guantanamo,” said Michele Cercone, spokesman for the EU Justice and Home Affairs Commission.
But the families of the terrorist’s victims are clearly and justifiably upset at the halt of the trials and the possibility that these terrorists could be brought to the united states:
“The safest place to have these trials is Guantanamo Bay. If they were to move to the homeland it would endanger all of us,” said Lorraine Arias Believeau of Barnegat, New Jersey, whose brother, Adam, was killed in the attacks.
Did I say we’re screwed yet?
totally agree! I want to support Obama as the new President but this is insane! I live in CA and do not want the murderers to come into my state at camp pendelton. the left thinks this is right, but are the really thinking of the families of the victims of 9/11? no! ugh im praying this country does not turn into europe.
Closing this facility and ending the practice of indefinite detentions without charge is not “defending terrorists”, it is a return to the practice of bringing charges against those we accuse of crimes. If they are guilty of terrorism charges, then let’s charge them in open courts instead of secret military commissions and then lock them up if they are found guilty.
The practice of torture and indefinite detention without charge weakens who we are as a nation.
Chris has no idea what he is talking about. I have served at GITMO in the detention camps. There is no torture going on, the detainees are treated BETTER than the service members who guard them. The detainees left in the GITMO camp are the “cream of the crop”. I’ve read some of the details of their capture, they aren’t innocent.
Besides, let’s get a couple of things straight.
1. These people were captured by military personnel in COMBAT operations.
2. They AREN’T US CITIZENS and are therfore NOT accorded rights under the Constitution.
3. They aren’t signatories of the Geneva convention, and are therfore not bound by its’ rules nor afforded its’ protections.
4. They do not represent any branch of legal Government, nor do they wear uniforms to identify themselves as such, so they AREN’T POW’s.
5. Their own home countries DON’T WANT THEM BACK!! So once released where do you want to send them?
They are BAD people who have done BAD things. They get what they deserve.
Doc
In the post WWII years three blocks from my house in Wilson Point,Maryland
were PRISONERS OF WAR kept in quoncet huts surrounded by chain-linked fencing and barbed wire.WE SPIT ON THEM.
Perhaps DocNavy has missed all of the news and released documents that show that President Bush and other Admiistration officials approved the implementation of torture policies to be used at Guantanamo Bay. It is absurd to claim that there is “no torture going on” when there are documents and statement from Administration officials themselves that clearly show that torture and other so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” were systematically used on detainees at the facility.
Also, you continue to claim that these people are really, really bad and that they those who are detained are actual criminals. If this is the case, then what problem would you have with bringing charges against them so that they can be punished if found guilty? After all the Supreme Court ordered that detainees have the right to challenge their detentions in civilian courts. If detainees are guilty of serious crimes then I am all for punishing them, but charges need to be brought against them first so that they can be found guilty.
Americans, from the United States, are the the most naive people on the planet. Because our roots lie throughout the world we lack a defined sense of history to guide us into the future. We have great difficulty facing up to evil and accepting that while we are busy taking care of our families there are people whose mission is to kill us. There are folks whose lives are driven by hatred and every day is dedicated to feeding hatred.
Why do the hateful hate is not a question that we can entertain. The answer is nothing other than they hate because they hate. These cowards use our naivete to exploit us. Our courts are for civilian matters. We can not and must not “play pretend” that civilians can possibly form a “group of their peers” and hear their case.
We have seen their actions we must not give them a VOICE. Let’s instead give a voice to the millions of families affected by terrorists acts throughout the world. We will have to hear them all when we go to sentence these barbarians. Chris, we are not equipped to give evil a voice. We must design systems which sustain not just our immediate needs. We all know that terrorism will be with us for a very long time and by giving it a voice we legitimize the means.
Josephine,
Understanding the reasons behind the ideology that leads terrorists to attack the United States is fundamental to solving the issue of terrorism. You claim that this is something that we can not afford to entertain, but in fact this is essential to confronting terrorism in any meaningful manner. Simply dismissing this as “they hate us because they hate us” is a gross misunderstanding of social, political, and cultural issues that all play into the question of “why do they hate us”.
I don’t know what you mean by arguing that we cannot give evil a voice. Charging criminals, including terrorists, with crimes is how this country has operated for years; in fact, it is a fundamental cornerstone of our system of justice. People who are detained for wrong-doing should be charged with their crimes.
Chris,
The most fundamental question you are raising is “why do they hate us so much”?
This is the equivalent of saying in order to create great race relations we should give a voice to the Ku Klux Klan. We should ask them “why do they hate blacks so much”? Any reasonable person would say this is proposterous. The answer to that question will never advance our civilization or race relations. The only answer to that question is because the hateful hate and will advance hate at all costs. Why ask it at all?
why shouldn’t we continue to give war criminals the same voice we give other civilians? Because they are not civilians. Their occupation is creating more hate and terror. They do this “full time”. And, if one is caught in the process of planning or executing an ACT OF TERROR one is a war criminal. Let the military handle it.
Chris, this is not the same as doing a peaceful march down main street expressing ones views, however objectionable they may be. This is not meeting with like minded people who feel the United States is at fault for something or other. This is not writing a newsletter and recruiting other like minded people to a point of view.
THIS IS WAR! And, this war will be around for a long long time. We must not act like we are powerless. We must never apologize for being powerful. This country is not perfect… Show me a country that is…
We need better systems to address TERROR. And, we have no systems for judging and punishing the warriors who create terror.
Josephine
Josephine,
We do have systems for judging and punishing the warriors who create terror.It is called the United States military, who judge, and Guantanamo, who punish.