Obama; 50 Guantanamo Detainees Will be Held Indefinitely Without Trial

[Sgt Schultz]

Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/kni/lowres/knin465l.jpg

The Washington Post
By Peter Finn
Friday, January 22, 2010

A Justice Department-led task force has concluded that nearly 50 of the 196 detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be held indefinitely without trial under the laws of war, according to Obama administration officials.

The task force's findings represent the first time that the administration has clarified how many detainees it considers too dangerous to release but unprosecutable because officials fear trials could compromise intelligence-gathering and because detainees could challenge evidence obtained through coercion.

Human rights advocates have bemoaned the administration's failure to fulfill President Obama's promise last January to close the Guantanamo Bay facility within a year as well as its reliance on indefinite detention, a mechanism devised during George W. Bush's administration that they deem unconstitutional.

"There is no statutory regime in America that allows us to hold people without charge or trial indefinitely," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

But the efforts of the task force, which this week completed its case-by-case review of the detainees still being held at Guantanamo Bay, allows the Obama administration to claim at least a small measure of progress toward closing the facility.

"We're still moving forward and in a much more deliberate and less haphazard manner than was the case before," said an administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the recommendations have not been made public. "All policies encounter reality, and it's painful, but this one holds up better than most."

The task force has recommended that Guantanamo Bay detainees be divided into three main groups: about 35 who should be prosecuted in federal or military courts; at least 110 who can be released, either immediately or eventually; and the nearly 50 who must be detained without trial.

Administration officials argue that detaining terrorism suspects under Congress's authorization of the use of force against al-Qaeda and the Taliban is legal and that each detainee has the right to challenge his incarceration in habeas corpus proceedings in federal court.

In a May speech, Obama said detention policies "cannot be unbounded" and promised to reshape standards. "We must have a thorough process of periodic review, so that any prolonged detention is carefully evaluated and justified," he said.

The group of at least 110 detainees cleared for release includes two categories. The task force deemed approximately 80 detainees, including about 30 Yemenis, eligible for immediate repatriation or resettlement in a third country. About 30 other Yemenis were placed in a category of their own, with their release contingent upon dramatically stabilized conditions in their home country, where the government has been battling a branch of al-Qaeda and fighting a civil war.

Obama suspended the transfer of any Guantanamo Bay detainees to Yemen in the wake of an attempted Christmas Day airliner attack, a plot that officials said originated in Yemen. Effectively, all Yemenis now held at Guantanamo have little prospect of being released anytime soon.

"The task force recommendations are based on all of the known information about each detainee, but there are variables that could change a detainee's status, such as being ordered released by the courts or a changed security situation in a proposed transfer state," an administration official said.

Moving a significant number of detainees to the United States remains key to the administration's now-delayed plan to empty the military facility. The federal government plans to acquire a state prison in Thomson, Ill., to house Guantanamo Bay detainees, but the plan faces major hurdles.

Congress has barred the transfer of the detainees to the United States except for prosecution. And a coalition of Republicans opposed to any transfers and some Democrats critical of detention without trial could derail the possibility of using the Thomson facility for anything other than military commissions, according to congressional staffers.

The task force comprised officials from the departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security and Justice, as well as agencies such as the CIA and the FBI. Officials said that the process of assessing the detainees was extremely challenging and occasionally contentious, but that consensus was reached on each case in the end.
Some European officials, who would like to see Guantanamo Bay closed without instituting indefinite detention, are advocating the creation of an internationally funded rehabilitation center for terrorism suspects in Yemen and possibly Afghanistan. They say such a facility would gradually allow the transfer of all detainees from those countries back to their homelands, according to two sources familiar with the plan.

A majority of the detainees slated for prolonged detention are either Yemeni or Afghan, and European officials think the others could eventually be resettled under close supervision.

European officials hope to raise the issue at an international conference in London next week that will address the situations in Yemen and Afghanistan.
"We are running out of options, and the administration needs to seriously consider this," said Sarah E. Mendelson, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the author of a report on closing Guantanamo Bay. "There is lots of really good expertise on rehabilitation, and the administration needs to invest in it."

The Bush and Obama administrations considered helping Yemen formulate a rehabilitation program, but the idea foundered amid concerns about the Middle Eastern country's capacity to implement it, officials said.

Since Obama took office, 44 Guantanamo Bay detainees have been repatriated or resettled in third countries, including 11 in Europe.

The administration anticipates that about 20 detainees can be repatriated by this summer, and it has received firm commitments from countries willing to settle an additional 25 detainees who have been cleared for release, officials said.

Within a few days, sources said, four other detainees are slated to be transferred out.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

[sadaist]

Obama promised he would close it down when he campaigned. As soon as he was sworn into office, he signed the executive order to close it within one year. At the time, liberals were upset about it taking that long. Well, deadline has passed and it doesn't look like he is anywhere closer to shutting it down than he was one year ago. No change...just continuing empty hope for it.


Guantanamo closing deadline missed | Video | Reuters.com (http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoChannel=1&videoId=31888938)


Guantanamo deadline passes, closure efforts continue

(AFP) – 15 hours ago

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's self-imposed deadline for closing Guantanamo passed unmet, as the administration moved closer to trying the alleged 9/11 plotters, but also to US indefinite detention.

Friday marked a year to the day since Obama signed an executive order pledging to close the controversial detention facility located on the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, on Cuba's southern tip.

But since then, his administration has struggled to repatriate detainees cleared for release, or find third countries to offer them asylum.

It also took government lawyers longer than expected to process those detainees who would not be released into three categories: those who would be tried before civilian courts, those to be prosecuted by military tribunals, and those who would be held indefinitely and without trial.

On Friday, the administration took one step closer to bringing some of Guantanamo's highest-profile detainees, five men accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks, before a court in New York.

The Pentagon said it had withdrawn charges against the men that were filed before a Guantanamo military tribunal, clearing the way for charges to be filed at a New York civilian court instead.

"This action is a procedural step, which is part of a normal process when an alternative forum is chosen," the Pentagon said.

The five men, including the self-described mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, are currently being held at Guantanamo, but are to be transferred to New York for trial.

Obama's decision to prosecute the men before a civilian US court rather than a military tribunal has come under fire from Republican lawmakers and some relatives of those killed in the attacks.

But others have praised his administration's decision to accord the men rights as defendants in a civilian trial.

The announcement came as reports said the administration would likely hold some 50 Guantanamo detainees indefinitely and without charge in the United States.

The Washington Post reported that a Justice Department-led task force had recommended holding 50 of the 196 remaining men at Guantanamo without trial under the laws of war.

The men are considered too dangerous to release, but the evidence against them is insufficient to bring them to trial, according to the Post.

Though Obama outlined plans to hold some detainees without trial in a speech last year, Friday's reports were met with dismay by human rights groups who had praised his administration's pledge to close Guantanamo and uphold international law.

"One of the most shameful chapters of American history was to have been brought to a close with the shuttering of the prison at Guantanamo Bay," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"But just as important as closing the prison quickly is closing it right and that means putting an end to the illegal policy of indefinite detention without charge or trial."

"This practice was wrong in Cuba and would remain so here, reducing the closure of Guantanamo to a symbolic gesture," he added.

The administration has indicated it plans to hold Guantanamo detainees at an Illinois prison that the federal government has acquired.

But Republican lawmakers, joined by some Democrats, fiercely oppose the prospect of bringing suspected terrorists into the United States, adding an additional obstacle to the administration's plans.

Further complicating the process is a 2008 Supreme Court decision that allows detainees to challenge their detention before US courts.

Since the decision, courts have considered a variety of cases, and overwhelmingly ruled in favor of detainees, clearing them of terrorism charges and ordering their release.

Though the administration has not set a new deadline for closing the facility, Obama's Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano pledged during a visit to Spain Friday that the prison would eventually be closed.

"The goal and the intent remain the same and the will to do so is unabashed," she said.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved

AFP: Guantanamo deadline passes, closure efforts continue (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEUKAr-0xPSXNzW03XqnJxKJ4kJg)

[Nickdfresh]

Merged. :)

BTW, instead of just posting dupe articles, maybe one of you "conservative" foils can tell us whether you support Obama keeping the terra-ists out of the US now?

Or do you just hate America, and reveal in what you perceive to be his "failures we're supposed to bemoan?" Even if you actually may agree with the outcomes since it's pretty clear that Obama (as I've always said) is moderate, almost center-right. Come on girls, it's okay to actually have an opinion of your own.. :)

[ZahZoo]

I tend to lean conservative... my opinion: I don't think we should of ever brought these terrorists, enemy combatants, criminals, whatever they are to Gitmo. But we're too far past that.

I think they should have been held in whatever region they were captured in. Processed for any intelligence that could be gotten out of them. Then turned over to the locals for whatever the local justice is due them...

Should they be brought onto US soil..? I don't think so. I certainly don't think they have any right to US constitutional protections what so ever. If they are charged with war crimes send them to the international body at the Hague for trial and handling. If they are suspected of other crimes in other countries... send them there for trial and handling.

I sure don't think most should just be released to their native counties so they can join back up with their bros and go back to killing people.

I'm not a lawyer so I don't know what the legal options are fully... but I think we should determine the most applicable process and run them thru it and be done with it.

[Baby's On Fire]

I tend to lean conservative... my opinion: I don't think we should of ever brought these terrorists, enemy combatants, criminals, whatever they are to Gitmo. But we're too far past that.

I think they should have been held in whatever region they were captured in. Processed for any intelligence that could be gotten out of them. Then turned over to the locals for whatever the local justice is due them...

Should they be brought onto US soil..? I don't think so. I certainly don't think they have any right to US constitutional protections what so ever. If they are charged with war crimes send them to the international body at the Hague for trial and handling. If they are suspected of other crimes in other countries... send them there for trial and handling.

I sure don't think most should just be released to their native counties so they can join back up with their bros and go back to killing people.

I'm not a lawyer so I don't know what the legal options are fully... but I think we should determine the most applicable process and run them thru it and be done with it.

I agree with you....But if you're gonna go the war crimes route...you gotta throw Chimpy and douchebag Cheney into the trial....and hang all of them. A war criminal is a war criminal...regardless of country, creed, skin color or fucked-up religious motivation.

Fuck it...bring back burning at the stake...I'll bring my coat hanger and weenies and marshmallows and pay admission for it.

[Nitro Express]

Now we are going to fill Gitmo up with Haitians. Maybe we should send the prisoners to Haiti?

[bueno bob]

Of course, if Obama had in fact been able to close Gauntanamo Bay in the time he originally intended, Schultziepoo would be railing against him as an anti-American terrorist supporting traitor...oh wait...

[sadaist]

Merged. :)

BTW, instead of just posting dupe articles, ......


If you would please notice that our posting times are exactly the same. Neither had any idea the other was posting the same thread topic. And mine had links included that some usually complain about when they have no argument against the message. Two links in fact. ;)

[hideyoursheep]

I think they should have been held in whatever region they were captured in. Processed for any intelligence that could be gotten out of them. Then turned over to the locals for whatever the local justice is due them....

I believe the punishment is being publicly beaten, eyes poked out, tongue cut out, removal of hands and feet, then decapitation....with no trial.

[standin]

I believe the punishment is being publicly beaten, eyes poked out, tongue cut out, removal of hands and feet, then decapitation....with no trial.

:umm:

The Taliban’s spiritual leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, issued a lengthy directive late last spring outlining a new code of conduct for the Taliban. The dictates include bans on suicide bombings against civilians, burning down schools, or cutting off ears, lips and tongues.

[Seshmeister]

Part of the problem is that a lot of the US public are absolutely shitting themselves with fear about these prisoners. They think they are some superhuman boogymen with magical powers who will escape from a maximim security prison(even though noone ever has before) and will then kill everyone in the local area.

The reality is that they are mainly goatherders and taxi drivers who were stitched under the retarded policy of 'Bring us someone you say is in Al Queda and we'll give you thousands of dollars and then kidnap and torture them for years.'

'He must be superhuman tough boss, we keep waterboarding him and all he knows is how to milk a hill goat'.

'Keep torturing him but say you'll stop if he says Iraq has WMDs'.

Is it land of the brave or land of the free, I always get that mixed up...?

[ZahZoo]

:umm:

The Taliban’s spiritual leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, issued a lengthy directive late last spring outlining a new code of conduct for the Taliban. The dictates include bans on suicide bombings against civilians, burning down schools, or cutting off ears, lips and tongues.

Yeah... New and Improved Taliban Lite - Tastes great... Less killing...

[Mushroom]

The reality is that they are mainly goatherders and taxi drivers who were stitched under the retarded policy of 'Bring us someone you say is in Al Queda and we'll give you thousands of dollars and then kidnap and torture them for years.'


I suspect you don't have access to CIA's intelligence reports, so it's your word against mine... The reality is the Harmless goatherders and taxi drivers have been returned. The remaining prisoners are being held for a reason. Go talk to Obama, maybe he can tell you something that us average civillians don't know.

[Nitro Express]

I say we dump the detainees off at Sheshmeister's house. He sounds like he likes goat herders. They could make cheese together.

[kwame k]

Did you guys support the closing of Gitmo back when Bush was king? If not, why are you bitching now that it'll stay open?

I've never liked the fact that we have our own little detention camp in Cuba, of all places. I believe now, as I did then, that they should be put on trail and dealt with accordingly. I don't want to hear about National Security or any of that bullshit because they could have closed to the public hearings.

It looks like they are going to keep 50 people detained indefinitely, releasing about 150 people. Those 50 should be brought to The US and kept in our prison system here but only after a trail of some sorts.

Here's the deal....we changed the rules for our war on Terra, we created a whole new classification for people, Enemy Combatants, and now that we have them we have to deal with it....why all you supposed patriots are scared of letting them into either a Military or a Federal prison is beyond me......guess you don't love your country enough to make the huge scarface to let 50 people into our type of Prison system or are too scared to have the bad men in your State? Either way it's utter bullshit keeping Gitmo open....We'd save money bringing them here.

[Seshmeister]

I suspect you don't have access to CIA's intelligence reports, so it's your word against mine... The reality is the Harmless goatherders and taxi drivers have been returned. The remaining prisoners are being held for a reason. Go talk to Obama, maybe he can tell you something that us average civillians don't know.

As your pal Bush once said "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me — You can't get fooled again."

The 'we are are abusing human rights but for important reasons we can't tell you' argument doesn't wash any more.

We listened to that shit once and ended up in Iraq...

[Mushroom]

Did you guys support the closing of Gitmo back when Bush was king? If not, why are you bitching now that it'll stay open?

I've never liked the fact that we have our own little detention camp in Cuba, of all places. I believe now, as I did then, that they should be put on trail and dealt with accordingly. I don't want to hear about National Security or any of that bullshit because they could have closed to the public hearings.

It looks like they are going to keep 50 people detained indefinitely, releasing about 150 people. Those 50 should be brought to The US and kept in our prison system here but only after a trail of some sorts.

Here's the deal....we changed the rules for our war on Terra, we created a whole new classification for people, Enemy Combatants, and now that we have them we have to deal with it....why all you supposed patriots are scared of letting them into either a Military or a Federal prison is beyond me......guess you don't love your country enough to make the huge scarface to let 50 people into our type of Prison system or are too scared to have the bad men in your State? Either way it's utter bullshit keeping Gitmo open....We'd save money bringing them here.

I'm not arguing for/against the closing of Gitmo. I'm simply stating that we, as civillians, do not know squat about our govt's real intelligence data on these 50 fucks. You can assume they are innocent. I can assume I put trust in our Govt (Obama Administration not Bush Administration) that they have reason to keep them locked up.

They can send those "enemy combatants" to my state - I don't give a fuck. Whatever prison they go to, they will likely be locked up in maximum security with little or no contact with american prisoners. the prisons/guards are obligated to protect inmates, but I would not be surprised if the prison guards fall asleep on the job.

[Mushroom]

As your pal Bush once said "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me — You can't get fooled again."

The 'we are are abusing human rights but for important reasons we can't tell you' argument doesn't wash any more.

We listened to that shit once and ended up in Iraq...

I understand that old saying "fool me once..." - but are you suggesting "we shall never trust the Government again"?

[Seshmeister]

You can trust the government if you want but the important thing is that you have checks and balances.

There are reasons that our law has been built the way it has over 800 years and the minute you fuck with basic rights like the right to a proper legal process then you end up in this total mess.

If Obama believes anything then I'm sure he will believe in this as a law professor which is why he is so committed to it. It seems the problem is a misery to sort out though.

[kwame k]

I'm not arguing for/against the closing of Gitmo. I'm simply stating that we, as civillians, do not know squat about our govt's real intelligence data on these 50 fucks. You can assume they are innocent. I can assume I put trust in our Govt (Obama Administration not Bush Administration) that they have reason to keep them locked up.

They can send those "enemy combatants" to my state - I don't give a fuck. Whatever prison they go to, they will likely be locked up in maximum security with little or no contact with american prisoners. the prisons/guards are obligated to protect inmates, but I would not be surprised if the prison guards fall asleep on the job.


Here's one of the things that is biting Obama in the ass....he was too specific as to dates/timetables about the things that he was promising.

Instead of saying, I'll have the troops out of Iraq in 19 months or whatever it was. Why not just say, I'll have the troops out of Iraq when the Generals and I decide on a safe and expedient withdraw.

Same as Gitmo, fuck use the old, I'm forming a committee and will have a report in the first 100 days of my administration. Sounds like your moving Heaven and Earth to get the job done but in reality you just asked for a report.

Why lock yourself into something until you have all the facts?

Are these guys guilty of some pretty awful shit? Probably. The more reason to put them on trial. If it hits on either methods to gather intelligence or National Security then close that part of the trial to the public and strike that part from the record.

When did it become a crime in this Country to have a trial ;) We are a Nation of laws and governances, why did that become a nasty word? -insert lawyer jokes here-
We had war crime trials for the Nazi's and Japanese...we've even had trials for terrorist who struck inside our Country. When did this whole notion of having a trail will comprise something.......comprise what? The invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan?

How many fucking years have they had to get all the information they could possibly glean from these people.....Most interrogation expert agree, torture will not give you reliable information but they do agree that over a prolonged period of time you can get the truth out of someone.....

We are way past the time when we can learn anything else from these people. Try 'em, sentence 'em and be done with it.

[Blackflag]

Here's one of the things that is biting Obama in the ass....he was too specific as to dates/timetables about the things that he was promising.

Instead of saying, I'll have the troops out of Iraq in 19 months or whatever it was. Why not just say, I'll have the troops out of Iraq when the Generals and I decide on a safe and expedient withdraw.

God forbid you say what you mean and mean what you say. What we need is more vague double-talk. In 2012, there will still be troops in Iraq, and these people still won't have a trial.

[Nickdfresh]

I'm not arguing for/against the closing of Gitmo. I'm simply stating that we, as civillians, do not know squat about our govt's real intelligence data on these 50 fucks...

But we know they've exaggerated things and have cried wolf multiple times, like when they charged a mentally retarded American citizen with wanting to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge (an American citizen the gov't attempted to deny his basic civil rights and due process), or made a "terror cell" out of a bunch of assclowns that had no real weapons, no plans, little actual training, and no real organization (The Lackawanna 7)...