...Susan Crawford, a Bush appointee who oversees the tribunal system, has not withdrawn charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing, and Monday's hearing remains on the schedule, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday....
The former administration of the USA won't be brought to trial by the Obama Administration. An action like that would have to include Congress as well. But, the 'real' trials for such an action would come through the international courts and I am confident there are those, including Americans, that are seeking the venue for justice in what is the longest reign of an oppressive government in the USA.
The Obama White House is going to have to insist on Gates 'getting tough' with Gitmo. Some bad habits are hard to break. I really don't see why an Executive Order was ignored. It looks like treason to me. It isn't as though President Obama opened the gates of Gitmo and turned them loose on the country again.
February 4th, 2009 1:21 am
Some call for Bush administration trials (click here)
Want ex-leader accountable on Iraq war
...Though the new president probably didn't notice them, the protesters holding the "ARREST BUSH" placards illustrated a thorny problem he will have to confront, perhaps sooner rather than later.
While most viewed Obama's inauguration as a fresh start for the country, many on the political left - among some of Obama's most ardent supporters - want to hold George W. Bush accountable for what they believe were illegal activities in office, including misleading Congress on the Iraq war, spying on Americans, and permitting coercive interrogations that critics consider to have been torture....
Every year Saudi Arabia comes out with a list of 'The Most Wanted Terrorists.' The list in past years had usually about 30 people. The Saudis are also very successful in capturing all those listed on "The Most Wanted Terrorist" List as well.
This year there are 11 former Gitmo detainees that have reappeared as problems for Saudi Arabia.
11 former Gitmo inmates on Saudi wanted list (click here)
By PAUL SCHEMM – 11 hours ago
CAIRO (AP) — The Saudi government acknowledged Wednesday that 11 men on the country's most wanted list are former Guantanamo prisoners who went through rehabilitation, raising doubts about a program intended to counter extremist religious ideology.
President Barack Obama signed an executive order closing down the prison in Cuba on Jan. 22 — his second day in office — leaving nations scrambling over what to do with a potential flood of released detainees.
Some 133 of Guantanamo's over 700 inmates were Saudi, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Gen. Mansour al-Turki, and 117 have returned to Saudi Arabia and been through rehabilitation programs.
"Besides the 11 people (on the list) who came from Guantanamo, there are still 106 people who have gone through this rehabilitation program and are doing okay," he told The Associated Press.
With a majority of the 9/11 hijackers from Saudi Arabia and hundreds of youths streaming into Iraq to join the insurgents, there has been a concerted government effort to counter with deprogramming sessions involving clerics, psychologists and sociologists....
Deviants disappearing from Kingdom: Experts (click here)
Arab News
MAKKAH: Terror experts in the Kingdom are claiming that terror-suspects have fled Saudi Arabia as they no longer find it congenial for the growth of extremist ideologies.
“The deviant ideology is disappearing from the country and its advocates have no choice but to leave the country as indicated by the details recently published by the Ministry of Interior,” Maj. Gen. Yahya Al-Zayedi, a Saudi security expert, told Al-Madinah newspaper.
“Security operations in the Kingdom have proved to be a total success in checking the spread of extremist activities and driving them out of their hiding places.
The operations have also foiled their conspiracies against the country, society and religion, and unveiled the falseness of their claims. This is the circumstance under which militants figuring in the list ran away from the Kingdom,” Al-Zayedi said....
Some of the state's legislative branches are attempting to exert 'State's Rights' over federal military instillations. They don't have any right to impede the military. What this amounts to is a way of 'making a statement.' I suppose they could try to challenge the US DOD in the Supreme Court, but, that is like the tail wagging the dog, the States just don't have jurisdiction over the operation of the military.
Don’t bring Gitmo prisoners to Georgia, congressman says (click here)
U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey says legislation will keep 240 Guantanamo detainees out of state
By BOB KEEFE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Not that Georgia was ever in line to become the next Gitmo, but just in case, U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey has introduced legislation he says will keep that from happening.
Gingrey (R-Marietta) got the backing of the rest of Georgia’s Republican House members for his “No GITMO in Georgia Act” that he says will ensure current detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention center are not relocated to the Peach State when the Cuban facility closes....
Gitmo resolution advances in KS House (click here)
TOPEKA House members give first-round approval to a resolution against bringing detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Kansas.
The resolution states the Legislature's opposition to bringing any of the some 240 suspected terrorist detainees now held on the base in Cuba to Kansas.
Fort Leavenworth is among three military sites in the United States under consideration by the Pentagon.
President Barack Obama has signed an executive order calling for the closure of the Guantanamo prison within a year.
Today's brief debate sends the measure to final action.
The Senate approved the measure on Monday, with 38 of the 40 members sponsoring the resolution.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has written Defense Secretary Robert Gates stating her opposition to moving detainees to Kansas.
