Why I do question the US Government when it comes to detainees and Gitmo?
There are new reasons every day. Today, it’s because they can’t find the defense requested witnesses for a military tribunal that reporters from the UK’s Guardian found IN THREE DAYS. Oh, and one of them teaches in Washington DC. (ht: SusanG of the kos)
The Guardian searched for Mr Mujahid’s witnesses and found them within three days. One was working for President Hamid Karzai. Another was teaching at a leading American college. The third was living in Kabul. The fourth, it turned out, was dead. Each witness said he had never been approached by the Americans to testify in Mr Mujahid’s hearing.
US forces arrested Mr Mujahid in the southern Afghan city of Gardez in mid-2003, claiming he had been fired as police chief due to suspicion of “collusion with anti-government forces”, according to official documents. Later, they alleged, he attacked US forces in retaliation.
In the military tribunal Mr Mujahid protested his innocence. He enjoyed good relations with American soldiers and had been promoted, not fired, he said. The three living witnesses he requested were easily located with a telephone, an internet connection and a few days work.
Shahzada Massoud was at the presidential palace, where he advises Mr Karzai on tribal affairs. Gul Haider, a former defence ministry official, was found through the local government in Gardez.
The interior ministry gave an email address for the former minister, Ahmed Ali Jalali, although he could as easily been found on the internet – he teaches at the National Defence University in Washington DC.
The witnesses largely corroborated Mr Mujahid’s story, with some qualifications. Mr Jalali, the former interior minister, said Mr Mujahid had been fired over allegations of corruption and bullying – not for attacking the government. Mr Haider, the former defence official, said Mr Mujahid had contributed 30 soldiers to a major operation against al-Qaida in March 2002. “He is completely innocent,” he said.
“Easily located” in three days. The whole way this government managed its military operations has been absolutely disgusting. Not sending enough troops to Afghanistan, giving sweetheart contracts with little stipulations governing the actions of private contractors, not sending the troops out with enough armor, cutting their health benefits, veteran benefits, and then compounding the problem by sending us into a costly unnecesary illegal immoral war we did not need to fight.
Now, we’ve thrown 500 people into a wretched excuse for a military prison and are torturing them. And, as my previous comments noted, we have no way of knowing if these people have actually done anything wrong. This government is so concerned about giving off the appearance of “fighting terrorists” that it’ll snap up whoever it can and parade them around as dangerous. If they had actually searched for Abdullah Mujahid’s witnesses, maybe they would’ve been able to have a fair trial of some kind. Maybe they would’ve been able to determine if he’s really dangerous or was just given up by someone who had a grudge or wanted a pay-off. But this particular Administration does not care about any of that justice or fairness, or due process stuff.
My fisking in caps:
Now, we’ve thrown 500 people into a wretched excuse for a military prisonWHY IS THIS PRISON WRETCHED, ACCORDING TO THE NPR REPORTS IT IS FAIRLY CONFORTABLE AND WELL MAINTAINED (BY PRISON STANDARDS) and are torturing them.WE ARE? THEN WHY HASN’T THE RED CROSS WHICH HAS CONSTANT ONGOING ACCESS TO THE PRISON – PER NPR – MADE THAT CLAIM? And, as my previous comments noted, we have no way of knowing if these people have actually done anything wrong.WE DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS AND PEOPLE – WE RELY ON THE GOVERNMENT TO ACT IN A REASONABLE FASHION – IF IT CAN’T BE TRUSTED HERE WHY SHOULD WE TRUST GOVERNMENT IN ANY AREA, E.G. WELFARE, INFRASTRUCTURE, ETC. IS THIS A PLEA FOR A LIBERTARIAN SMALL GOVERNMENT APPROACH? This government is so concerned about giving off the appearance of “fighting terrorists†that it’ll snap up whoever it can and parade them around as dangerous.FACTS PLEASE, NOT JUST ASSERTIONS – JUST READ THAT THE NUMBER OF CONVICTED TERRORISTS IS IN THE HUNDREDS, OBVIOUSLY THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING MORE THAN JUST PARADING If they had actually searched for Abdullah Mujahid’s witnesses, maybe they would’ve been able to have a fair trial of some kind. Maybe they would’ve been able to determine if he’s really dangerous or was just given up by someone who had a grudge or wanted a pay-off. But this particular Administration does not care about any of that justice or fairness, or due process stuff.AGAIN, BASED ON A SINGLE INSTANCE (WITH RELIANCE ON THE GUARDIAN, A NOTORIOUSLY ANTI AMERICAN ANTI JEWISH PAPER), A BROAD ASSERTION HAS BEEN MADE – LETS HAVE SOME BROADER FACTS, PLEASE
Hey, look, it’s an NPR piece on Guantanamo:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5423226
“Adel Hajee and Abdullah al-Nah Aamee were released from Guantanamo in November, ending four years of incarceration. Neither man was told why he was taken to Guantanamo; they were never charged with an offense — and neither was told why he was released.”
“They started jumping on our backs, with their boots, kicking our faces, walking over our backs. They were cursing and screaming towelheads, threatened to kill me if I moved.”
here’s another one:
World
U.N. Panel: Close Guantanamo, Foreign Prisons
by Jackie Northam
All Things Considered, May 19, 2006 · A United Nations panel recommends that the United States close its Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba — as well as any secret detention centers worldwide. The news comes as the U.S. military reports that prisoners at Guantanamo clashed with guards trying to stop a detainee from committing suicide. There have been 39 suicide attempts since the camp opened.
In fact, I searched the NPR page for Guantanamo, and can’t find any reference to your Guantanamo is okay, for a prison. But I can find tons of pieces on objections to guantanamo and details on why it should be closed. but thanks for referring to NPR so much in your reply. Can you offer the facts you demand? Especially the NPR piece that speaks about the Red Cross access to prison, that would be great.
My argument is not a libertarian approach to government, for this particular government to stop waging unnecessary wars and spending billions of dollars on foolishness. They didn’t plan either of these wars properly, and we are going to pay for it. Think of how many public schools 1 Trillion Dollars could build and staff. Think of the healthcare 1 Trillion Dollars could provide for the 45 million uninsured of this country. Don’t you think its immoral that we’re ignoring our own needs here and spending those resources on wrong wars we didn’t need to fight?
Again, as for number of convicted terrorists, where did you read that, what’s the number? For someone so frustrated with the fact that I only had one source for this piece, your response doesn’t have any.
As for The Guardian, I don’t know whether it has a pro or Anti Jewish viewpoint, but I do know that it reported this. Does that make it Anti-American? Given this Administration’s track record (which I’m happy to site if you if you would like it), I tend to believe that this case is much more likely to mean there are more of them that have yet to be found/reported, in the same way that the number of charges Y-Love was speaking about shows there may be more incidents out there.