Obama puts the boot into gitmo

[tarrant]

Barack Obama has requested the suspension of all military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, in his first major act as US president.

The request could halt proceedings in 21 pending cases, including those against five men accused of plotting the 11 September 2001 attacks.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7841492.stm

[VikingHumpingWitch]

"Mr Obama emphasised the idea of respect for justice and the rights of the individual, rejecting "as false the choice between our safety and our ideals"."

Wish we had one of him in Britain.

[mids]

Well, good luck to him. I hope he can sort it out to the satisfaction of most. I don't think that's going to be easy. Oh, and don't pay out a penny in compo to anyone.

[avon]

i thought the U.K. and Portugal were taking them in . it's one way of resolving the problem , shut giitmo and give the inmate's to other countries .

[VikingHumpingWitch]

Jan 21, 2009 10:31:55 GMT mids said:

Oh, and don't pay out a penny in compo to anyone.

Out of interest, why not? If someone was, say, shopped as a terrrrst by a disgruntled neighbour and locked up on that basis without charge for years, years FFS, finally released because it was accepted that they haven't actually done a thing wrong, why would they not be eligible for a bit of a payout for it?

[mids]

We don't want them. Why should we take them? We'll only put them up in a one million pound house in notting Hill and pay them huge amounts of dole money. Nah, bollocks to 'em. They can go and live on the Pakistani/Afghan border. They'll be more at home there.

[mids]

Jan 21, 2009 10:43:12 GMT VikingHumpingWitch said:

Jan 21, 2009 10:31:55 GMT mids said:

Oh, and don't pay out a penny in compo to anyone.

Out of interest, why not? If someone was, say, shopped as a terrrrst by a disgruntled neighbour and locked up on that basis without charge for years, years FFS, finally released because it was accepted that they haven't actually done a thing wrong, why would they not be eligible for a bit of a payout for it?

Are there any that this has happened to though? I doubt it. Even if there are, I'm in no mood to pay out any of...errrr... America's money today. Bollocks to 'em.

[ricklinc]

Well that's the token election promise taken care of. Down to political business as usual. Since he's a liberal I imagine this means fcuking somebody to pay for some useless crap.

[ricklinc]

Poo? Aw come on. Dung at least.

[avon]

if they shut gitmo they could release them into American society or return them to their country of origen . why should other counties take them in .

[VikingHumpingWitch]

Jan 21, 2009 10:47:18 GMT mids said:

Are there any that this has happened to though?

Erm, yes. Many people have been released without charge because there was no evidence to suggest that they had done anything wrong. Not even after years of looking. Plus you have to remember that there was a bounty of $5000 for giving someone over to the US, obviously it's incredibly unlikely that people living in poor parts of the world would be motivated by a huge sum of cash to do something a bit naughty but I suppose it is just about possible to imagine it happening.

[mids]

Jan 21, 2009 10:57:44 GMT VikingHumpingWitch said:

Jan 21, 2009 10:47:18 GMT mids said:

Are there any that this has happened to though?

Erm, yes. Many people have been released without charge because there was no evidence to suggest that they had done anything wrong. Not even after years of looking. Plus you have to remember that there was a bounty of $5000 for giving someone over to the US, obviously it's incredibly unlikely that people living in poor parts of the world would be motivated by a huge sum of cash to do something a bit naughty but I suppose it is just about possible to imagine it happening.

Really? There are some who had done absolutely nothing wrong and were snatched away in the night because of one disgruntled neighbour. Well I never did! That's terrible!

[VikingHumpingWitch]

Now you know why half the world has been so horrified by this. The other half only aren't because they don't know.

[Deleted]

Anyway, the issue is trial without charge, and torture. Some have already been released without charge. Does anyone believe they've been released because they're probably guilty? The whole thing is rancid, and Obama's right. Good on him.

[Deleted]

Not trial you dumkopf. Imprisonment. K'sake...

[VikingHumpingWitch]

I still find it utterly unbelievable that something like this happened in America of all places. A land founded on freedom and justice. Astonishing. Those responsible should be dealt with as traitors.

[Deleted]

Well this is just it, innit? Gitmo sort of sunk their ideals without trace, desecrated what the US stood for. So yes, those who did it should be shot as traitors.

[reverend]

It amuses the hell out of me the way the liberals claim the gitmo POW's are all innocent, yet noone wants them back and half of them cant be sent back as they could be tried and executed!

[VikingHumpingWitch]

Jan 21, 2009 12:40:40 GMT reverend said:

It amuses the hell out of me the way the liberals claim the gitmo POW's are all innocent

Straw man. Nobody has said they're all innocent. Just some of them. This is also, incidentally, accepted by the US government, because they've released a lot of them.

[reverend]

who then suddenly turn up fighting in afghanistan, funny that!