Who with half a brain cell did not see this coming? Even without a law degree, any American who has a fundamental understanding of our judicial system, our laws and th e Constitution expected, while hoping against, this action by the court. I find this a dark insidious stain which I fear will be played out in all civilian trials of Gitmo detainees.
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge has tossed out most of the government’s evidence against a terrorist detainee on grounds his confessions were coerced, allegedly by U.S. forces, before he became a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay.
In a ruling this week, U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan also said the government failed to establish that 23 statements the detainee made to interrogators at Guantanamo Bay were untainted by the earlier coerced statements made while he was held under harsh conditions in Afghanistan.
However, the judge said statements he made during two military administrative hearings at the U.S. detention center in Cuba, where he was assisted by a personal representative, were reliable and sufficient to justify holding the detainee.
Musa’ab Omar Al Madhwani allegedly engaged in a 2 1/2-hour firefight with Pakistani authorities before his capture in a Karachi apartment in 2002.
The detainee says that after five days in a Pakistani prison, he was handed over to U.S. forces and flown to a pitch-black prison he believes was in Afghanistan. He says he was suspended in his cell by his left hand and that guards blasted his cell with music 24 hours a day.
He said that he confessed to whatever allegations his interrogators made and that harassment and threats continued after he was moved to a different prison in Afghanistan.
Al Madhwani said that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay on multiple occasions threatened him when he tried to retract what he now claims was a false confession. The judge said he was particularly concerned that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay relied on or had access to the coerced confessions from Afghanistan made by Al Madhwani.
The logical inference from the record, said the judge, is that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay reviewed Al Madhwani’s coerced confessions with him and asked him to make identical confessions.
“Far from being insulated from his coerced confessions, his Guantanamo confessions were thus derived from them,” Hogan wrote.
The judge said the government presented medical records about the detainee’s debilitating physical and mental condition that confirm his claims of harsh treatment during the 40 days he spent in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Despite Hogan’s concerns about the 23 statements, the judge relied on other evidence and three statements Al Madhwani made to a military tribunal and a review board to conclude that he trained, traveled and associated with members of al-Qaida, including high-level operatives. On those grounds, the judge ruled he is legally detained.
Are we supposed to feel safer against Islamic terrorism by bringing individuals caught during battle to civilian court and affording them the Constitutional rights of citizens? I think not. Continually this administration has been reluctant, to display any courage in protecting US citizens against terrorism. While refusing to acknowledge the base ideology of Islamic terrorists, they have continually downplayed the last two terror attacks perpetrated on US soil against Americans.
The Concessional investigation of the November 5th terrorist attack at Fort Hood is being stonewalled by administration officials. From members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee:
(CNSNews.com) – Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters earlier this week that information-sharing policies between the federal government and the U.S. military do not seem to have evolved since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by Islamic extremists that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
The senators said the Obama administration took too long to brief the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the Fort Hood shootings. The Senate panel has launched its own investigation into the Nov. 5 slaying of 13 people at the Army base in Killeen, Texas.
Lieberman and Collins, the committee’s chairman and ranking member, respectively, said although a recent closed-door meeting with Defense Department officials on the Fort Hood shootings was “helpful,” the Obama administration is not being transparent about its investigation into Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, a Muslim with ties to Islamic extremists, who is charged with the killings. The senators said the administration is not fully cooperating with the congressional probe of the case. (emphasis mine)
Then there is Detroit flight 253 on Christmas, again members of Congress, this time the House:
The top Republicans on the House Homeland Security and Intelligence committees blasted the White House’s response to a Nigerian man’s attempt to bomb a flight last Friday en route to Detroit from Amsterdam.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee and a GOP candidate for governor of Michigan, tweeted Monday:
Administration flying solo on natl security.Continue to stonewall on Ft Hood/DC 5/and now Detroit.The law/common sense says they must brief
And Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the Obama administration was unwilling to share information with lawmakers on the attempted Christmas attack.
“It’s very hard, even for me being on the Homeland Security Committee and the Intelligence Committee, to get any information out of this administration,” King said during an appearance on Fox News. “Since Friday, basically, an Iron Curtain has come down as far as providing information to members of Congress.” (emphasis mine)
While Obama may utter the words, “We are at war,” there is an apparent disconnect between the words and the actions the administration takes in addressing the terrorist situation. Why did it take 3 days for the President to speak to the American public after the Christmas day bombing attempt?
To the administration terrorists are placed in the category of criminals, not that of enemy combatants. Even the newly suggested information sharing between government agencies, reeks of weakness and is a reactive move instead of a proactive move on the part of the United States. Instead of moving toward more aggressive protocol in screening which includes PROFILING those who commit these acts of war against the United States, we have a President who reminds us:
And we know that the vast majority of Muslims reject Al Qaida.
I personally do not believe this to be true. In fact until I see massive demonstrations of Islamic followers condemning the evil of all jihads, I will not believe it. Random organizational statements from a couple of Muslim groups without concrete action are meaningless. In Detroit, where 3% of the almost 300,000 residents are Muslim, a group rallied 12 people to protest outside the federal court where the Christmas day bomber was being arraigned.
Outside court, about a dozen people held up signs reading “Islam is against terrorism” and “Not in the name of Islam.”
Where are the others who seek a peaceful and non-jihadist Islam? Not sure about that, but I know the call to not profile terrorist behavior can draw a large crowd. Where are these individuals in condemning all jihad terror?
clip and back to Obama…
To advance that progress we’ve sought new beginnings with Muslim communities around the world, one in which we engage on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect and work together to fulfill the aspirations that all people share — to get an education, to work with dignity, to live in peace and security.
While seeking peace is a wonderful utopian ideal, the stark truth is there is a war being fought.. whether the President understands this or not and at stake is the liberty and freedom we cherish. Islam tenets demand that those not following the teachings of Mohammad are considered infidels, the holy war they ascribe to is the destruction of all infidels.. period.
Moving some of the Gitmo prisoners to New York for criminal trials reflects a pattern of disregard for the safety of Americans by this administration. The jihadists will be allowed a platform to speak to the rational of their jihad against the civilized world, in particular the United States.
Even if found guilty, the propaganda tool this administration has granted them is beyond scope. If found innocent, through technicalities in the justice system, do we just allow them to leave? We have already seen how a majority of these terrorists return to their evil ways, just look at Yemen. If we continue to detain them, after being afforded Constitutional rights, what does that say to the world and in particular jihadists who will be watching the circus court ?
The administration has placed this country in a no win situation, sadly they don’t seem to care. These are dark days indeed.
