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Elliptical Kills Suspected Taliban Commander at Guantanamo Bay
The recreation yards in Camp Delta, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, include exercise equipment for the detainees. An adjoining area gives the detainees room to play soccer
I guess Awal Gul should have played soccer instead.A 48-year-old suspected Taliban base commander dropped dead of an apparent heart attack after exercising on an elliptical machine inside Guantánamo’s most populous prison camp, the military said Thursday.
The dead man, Awal Gul, had been held at the prison camps in southeast Cuba since October 2002.
Gul was working out Tuesday night in a collective cellblock at the cement penitentiary-style building called Camp 6, said Navy Cmdr. Tamsen Reese, a prison camps spokeswoman.
“He went to go take a shower and apparently collapsed in the shower,” Reese said. “Detainees on the cellblock then assisted him in getting to the guard station.”
From there he was taken to a prison camp clinic, then to the Navy base hospital, some miles away, but could not save him despite what the commander called “extensive life saving measures.”
Hey, I thought President Obama was going to close Gitmo because of all of the torture going on there or something?
Now, the detainees will be restricted from using the elliptical – no doubt.
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Day By Day November 28, 2009 – No Credit
And, how stupid is this?Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.
The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called a captain’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.
Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.
Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.
Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.
Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.
Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.
Neal Puckett, an attorney representing McCabe, told Fox News the SEALs are being charged for allegedly giving the detainee a “punch in the gut.â€
“I don’t know how they’re going to bring this detainee to the United States and give us our constitutional right to confrontation in the courtroom,†Puckett said. “But again, we have terrorists getting their constitutional rights in New York City, but I suspect that they’re going to deny these SEALs their right to confrontation in a military courtroom in Virginia.â€
The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.
I can harldy wait for the trial of the Gitrmo detainees, especially Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) who undoubtedly will blame President Bush and every American President since Lincoln for their plight.
The decision by President Obama to give these terrorists extraordinary legal rights WILL be a sorry display of Al Qaeda propaganda which will bite Obama and the Democrats in the ass come November 2010.
As for the SEALS, what disgraceful conduct towards them.
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Al Qaeda, Barack Obama, Bernardine Dohrn, Day By Day, Guantanamo Bay, Jeremiah Wright, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, William Ayers
Day By Day November 18, 2009 – It’s Who You Know Who Blows
The idea of a capital trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed of Al Qaeda and 9/11 infamy is pure folly. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said it best about the flap:Returning some of the Guantanamo detainees to New York City for trial, specifically Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, has now brought us full circle — we have regressed to a pre-9/11 mentality with respect to Islamic extremist terrorism. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed should be treated like the war criminal he is and tried in a military court. He is not just another murderer, or even a mass murderer. He murdered as part of a declared war against us — America.
This is the same mistake we made with the 1993 terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center. We treated them like domestic criminals, when in fact they were terrorists. In the dangerous world we live in today, a nation unable to identify and properly define its enemies is a nation in danger.
Chris, I don’t think that even Chicago would want the trial or subsequent incarceration of these war criminals. But, a jury of Al Qaeda’s peers is a little harsh – unless you mean President Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright and domestic terrorists William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.
Maybe you have a point…….
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Day By Day by Chris Muir June 15, 2009 – Hillary Clinton, Immaculate Virgin
Day By Day by Chris MuirThe Obama Administrations’ handling of the transfer of Guantanamo Bay terrorists to Bermuda has created quite the Flap.Senior aides to President Barack Obama accompanied four Uighur prisoners as they were flown from Guantanamo Bay to the British colony of Bermuda, without the UK being informed, it was revealed yesterday.
In an escalating diplomatic row over the transfer of the former terrorist suspects, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the transfer with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in what was said to be an uneasy conversation. Privately Whitehall officials accused America of treating Britain, with whom it is supposed to have a “special relationship”, with barely disguised contempt.
One senior official said: “The Americans were fully aware of the foreign-policy understanding we have with Bermuda and they deliberately chose to ignore it. This is not the kind of behaviour one expects from an ally.”
I think Obama’s problem with the Brits started with giving the British PM Gordoen Brown DVD’s in the wrong format.
Isn;t it becomig obvious that Teleprompter “The One” is a rookie who has no idea on how to conduct foreign policy?
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Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay, Hillary Clinton
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Poll Watch: 49 Per Cent Opposed to Closing Guantanamo Bay
Terrorist Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
And, only 38 per cent agree.The question:
Do you agree or disagree with President Obama’s decision to close the Guanatanamo Prison Camp?
- Agree – 38%
- Disagree – 49%
- Not Sure – 13%
The support for keeping Guantanamo’s prison camp open declined from 59% last summer to 49% last November to 42% in January. In fact, shortly after the President announced his intention to close the camp, a narrow plurality agreed with him.
Since then, the trends have moved in the opposite direction. The number who want to keep the facility open increased from 42% in January to 46% in April and 49% now. The number who agree with the President’s position has fallen from 44% in January to 38% today.
Most Democrats (61%) now agree with the President on this issue. However, 79% of Republicans and 54% of unaffiliateds hold the opposite view.
Obama does NOT have a plan regarding Guantanamo Bay and it is my bet he changes his mind about closing the facility. He will at first delay the matter and then do nothing when it fades from public view.
Technorati Tags: Guantanamo Bay, Barack Obama
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$50 Million to Relocate Guantanamo Bay Terrorist Prisoners
All to be appropriated without any specific plan on what to do with the prisoner detainees or where they will be sent.
What is the plan, Mr. President?
Do you have one?
Technorati Tags: Guantanamo Bay, Barack Obama
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Video: Mr. President, How Does Closing GITMO Make US Safer?
Video from the House Republican Conference: House Republicans are committed to preventing the release or transfer of terrorists to American soil.So, Mr President, what is your plan to close Guantanamo Bay?
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay, House Republican Conference
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Poll Watch: 75 Per Cent Oppose Release of Guantanamo Bay Prisoners in the United States
Terrorist Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Although President Obama’s intelligence chief stated last week that some terrorist inmates held at Guantanamo Bay may be released in the United States, only 13 per cent of American voters think that should be allowed.Seventy-five percent (75%) say Guantanamo inmates should not be released in this country, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.
For 75% of voters, safety is more important than fairness in determining where terrorist suspects are released. Only 17% say fairness is more important.
National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair also said some of these inmates may receive financial assistance from the government to ease their transition into society. Seventy-four percent (74%) oppose giving taxpayer money to former Guantanamo prisoners to help them return to society.
Sixteen percent (16%) think taxpayers should provide money to the inmates.
Just 36% now agree with the president’s decision to close the prison camp for suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. Forty-six percent (46%) oppose closing the prison camp, and 18% are undecided.
This marks an eight-point drop in support for Obama’s decision since he announced it in late January when voters were almost evenly divided on the issue. Last November, only 32% thought the prison should be closed.
And, then the question is: Exactly where do you release them?
Can you imagine the local community uproar?
Technorati Tags: Guantanamo Bay
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Poll Watch: Obama’s Decision to Close GITMO Met With Mixed Reviews by American Voters
Terrorist Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
President Barack Obama’s decision to close GITMO has met with mixed reviews by American voters.U.S. voters are closely divided over whether the government should close the terrorist prison camp at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.
Forty-four percent (44%) agree with President Obama’s decision to close the camp within the next year, while 42% disagree in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure which is the best course to follow.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters, however, still say safety is more important to them than fairness in determining where the terrorist suspects should be imprisoned. Just 19% put more emphasis on fairness, while 13% are not sure which is more important. These numbers are virtually unchanged from the findings in November.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) say the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo should not be given all the rights of U.S. citizens. Only 16% disagree, and 15% are not sure.
Just 26% say the suspected terrorists should be tried in U.S. courts. Fifty-nine percent (59%) support the Bush Administration position that they should be tried by military tribunals. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.
Again, the responses to both these questions are almost identical to those in a survey last July.
Looks like Karl Rove’s comments the other day are not too far off the mark.
The “campaign architect,†as he is commonly called, built a case against President Barack Obama’s order to close Guantanamo, an overseas CIA detention center where terrorists and other “enemy combatants†are held. Obama’s order could enable terrorists to be tried in U.S. courts, to be given undeserved rights afforded American citizens and could cause damaging long-term effects, Rove said.
“One year from now, Gitmo won’t be closed,†Rove said. “If it is, there will be an uproar in the U.S. about where to put these people.â€
In one of President Barack Obama’s first acts as President, it looks like a change of Bush Administration policy that does NOT enjoy the overwhelming support of the American people. Well, Obama has left himself a year to decide how to close GITMO.
The closing of Guantanamo Bay = symbolism over substance.
Technorati Tags: Guantanamo Bay, Barack Obama, Karl Rove
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Barack Obama Orders Halt to GITMO Prosecutions
Prior to Barack Obama’s inauguration a big deal regarding Guantanamo Bay was made regarding a reversal of Bush policy on the terrorist detainees and the location of their incarceration. An executive order was to be made immediatley following Obama becoming President.In one of his first acts in office President Obama has ordered the U.S. government to suspend prosecutions of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for 120 days, military officials said Tuesday.
Papers filed at the U.S. prison camp said the request is made “in the interest of justice and at the direction of the president of the United States.” It seeks a delay in proceedings until May 20.
“The judges will receive the requests and review them, and we anticipate a ruling soon,” said Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Defense Department spokesman.
Tuesday’s directive was issued verbally through Defense Secretary Bob Gates, according to a military official.
This is a big deal?
A Reagan – Iranian hostage release inauguration moment?
No, it is more symbolism over substance or Plus Ca Change from Obama.
Ed Morrissey explains why the Obama decision is nothing but delay.
In this case, justice delayed is not much of a change at all. Did Obama not have an idea of how to proceed when he took office? A four-month delay only means that the detainees will have to wait that much longer to see any adjudication of their status. Why not allow the tribunals to proceed, at least to get a finding of fact from them? If Obama wants to invalidate the process later, he can also invalidate their findings. It’s difficult to see what Obama expects to get from a further delay, especially since one of the main complaints about Gitmo has been the length of time the men have been held without adjudication.
The delay would only be meaningful if Obama intended to free all of the Gitmo prisoners, something that the ACLU has urged. Somehow, I don’t think Barack Obama would be that foolish. It would be tough to win re-election as the man who set Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 actors free simply to win favor from Europe’s elite.
In the end, Obama’s policy may not be that different from the Bush Administration. Campaign rhetoric is one thing; actual governance is another.
Here is another example of Barack Obama’s policy positions having an expiration date. Now, this is real change.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay