Obama Grants More Rights to Gitmo Detainees
NewsMax
The Obama administration plans to issue new guidelines meant to provide prisoners at a U.S. detention center in Afghanistan greater latitude in challenging their detention, The New York Times reported in its Sunday edition.
Citing Pentagon officials and advocates for detainees at the U.S.-run prison at Bagram Air Base, the newspaper said each of the approximately 600 detainees would be assigned a U.S. military official who would have the authority to look for evidence, including witnesses and classified material, for any detainee challenging his detention.
The challenges would be heard by a military-appointed review board, the Times said.
The new policies are expected to be announced as early as this week, after congressional review, the paper reported, but it was unclear how quickly they could be implemented.
Tags: Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay, Pentagon, Terrorists
September 14th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
In a recent news article entitled, Feinstein Emerges as Top Defender for Bringing Gitmo Detainees to U.S., Dianne Feinstein, our long time Democratic Senator from California, presents a fine argument for bringing the Gitmo prisoners to American soil. Her reasons are sound, and logical, and reasonable. She is right; I have to agree with her logic. There is no question that we can safely house, and maintain the prisoners, i.e., 'detainees'. Moving them will not be a danger to any American just because they are on American soil. She makes the argument that simply moving the prisoners on to American soil will not change their legal status; that the Supreme court will not see any difference between "American soil, or elsewhere".
I am no attorney, but I've been around long enough to know that when those prisoners hit American soil, their status will change, and they will belong to our court system, and they will acquire the rights to a defense, and speedy trial, and humane treatment, and imprisonment, or exoneration, and release. We extend all of our legal rights to illegal aliens, so it not a very big stretch to extend the same rights to the Gitmo prisoners. Anyway, I am all for closing Gitmo, and moving the prisoners to American soil. I think we should do it NOW. Bring those rascals to American soil, let them use our court system to their full advantage, give them a fair trial, imprison, or execute the guilty, and release the innocent, and let the chips fall where they may. And do it in public; I don't want to hear about secret trials, or national security issues.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
MY God, how many people have to be killed by these fools for them to have to pay the price of prison permanently. If reversed, we would have been beheaded on the spot. I disagree with the current political mindset entirely.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I am so angry I can hardly type. I don’t know whether to cry or to bust up something. Mr. Obama wants to go easy on those who try to kill us (who have killed us). He cares more for these murderers than he does for American citizens. Is anyone paying attention??? Do you know that he has given new directives to the Pentagon that prohibit Commanders sending in artillery or air support to trapped or wounded troops on the ground if there is even the tiniest chance there is a single building nearby that might have a non-combatant in it.
See further comments next blog.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I live in Virginia. On Saturday, 9/12 the Virginia Pilot ran an article titled Under Fire, On Their Own; sub-titled Beach Marine killed was in group that was refused air support. Within the article is this sentence “U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected calls for support – despite being told that the unit wasn’t near a village.” There is an additional account from a young Army Sergeant in Afghanistan written to his father. He detailed how an injured American who could not be reached by Medics was denied artillery support because of the new “rules of engagement”. We are sending our young men and women out onto the field of battle to protect our liberties and way of life without allowing them the support they must have to survive, return home and reap the benefits of their own labors. Sounds very Obamian to me….you work (and in this case die) so that the fruits of your labor may be enjoyed by others.
I AM ANGRY, VERY ANGRY. I was in DC on Saturday marching with 1.5 million or more fellow citizens who are also angry.
DO YOU HEAR US NOW???