Administration halts prosecution of USS Cole bomber

[T-Rock]

WTH

Administration halts prosecution of alleged USS Cole bomber

snip...The Obama administration has shelved the planned prosecution of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged coordinator of the Oct. 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, according to a court filing...

...In a filing this week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said that "no charges are either pending or contemplated with respect to al-Nashiri in the near future."

..."It's politics at this point," said one military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss policy. He said he thinks the administration does not want to proceed against a high-value detainee without some prospect of civilian trials for other major figures at Guantanamo Bay.

Read the rest here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...082606353.html

Why play politics with National Security...

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by T-Rock

Why play politics with National Security...

When have American politicians and statesmen not played politics with national security?

Right now, Samuel Eliot Morison is rolling in his grave! His corpse is crying out: '"The" should always precede the name of a ship.'

[dr. mabuse]

More foolishness from Washington.

Obama and company remind me of an old latin saying, " A carpenter is known by his chips."

Too true.

[Richard]

The Defense Department issued a statement Thursday saying the case is not stalled. "Prosecutors in the Office of Military Commissions are actively investigating the case against Mr. al-Nashiri and are developing charges against him," the statement said.

Perhaps they weren't quite ready to go to trial - maybe they had new evidence they needed to develop, or maybe they had evidence they either needed to further develop or redevelop because of how it was obtained, or maybe the reformed system of military commissions wasn't quite ready...or whatever.

When have American politicians and statesmen not played politics with national security?

Might not be just about the current administration - was this particular case a 2004 and 2008 election year political issue, too? Seems to me as if this one could turn into a real 'tar baby' kind of case. From June 2008:

Captured in November 2002, Nashiri was held in secret custody by the CIA before his transfer to Guantanamo Bay in September 2006. It is unclear whether he and his lawyers will be able to question the CIA interrogators who conducted his harsh questioning and whether information elicited by that treatment will be admissible in the untested military commissions.

"The evidentiary issues will be resolved in the courtroom," he said. "The judge will make a final decision as to the validity of any piece of evidence."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...063000807.html

And then there is this:

Example Set by First Military Tribunal Case Has U.S. Wary

After working for a year to redeem the international reputation of military commissions, Obama administration officials are alarmed by the first case to go to trial under revamped rules: the prosecution of a former child soldier whom an American interrogator implicitly threatened with gang rape.

The defendant, Omar Khadr, was 15 when he was captured in Afghanistan and accused of throwing a grenade that killed an American soldier. Senior officials say his trial is undermining their broader effort to showcase reforms that they say have made military commissions fair and just.

“Optically, this has been a terrible case to begin the commissions with,” said Matthew Waxman, who was the Pentagon’s top detainee affairs official during the Bush administration. “There is a great deal of international skepticism and hostility toward military commissions, and this is a very tough case with which to push back against that skepticism and hostility.”

Senior officials at the White House, the Justice Department and the Pentagon have agreed privately that it would be better to reach a plea bargain in the Khadr case so that a less problematic one would be the inaugural trial, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former officials. But the administration has not pushed to do so because officials fear, for legal and political reasons, that it would be seen as improper interference.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/us/28gitmo.html

The wheels of Justice and so forth...but delay doesn't mean can't or won't.

And so it goes...

Richard

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by T-Rock

WTH



Why play politics with National Security...

This move will free up additional resources for the Administration to pursue the persecution of the National Security threats on the Southern Border....most notably The State of Arizona, Gov. Brewer and Sheriff Joe.

[T-Rock]

This move will free up additional resources for the Administration to pursue the persecution of the National Security threats on the Southern Border....most notably The State of Arizona, Gov. Brewer and Sheriff Joe.

Well, they've already taken it to the UN Human rights Council…wonder if Rashad Hussain will take it to the OIC...

[Richard]

This move will free up additional resources for the Administration to pursue the persecution of the National Security threats on the Southern Border....most notably The State of Arizona, Gov. Brewer and Sheriff Joe.

Well, they've already taken it to the UN Human rights Council…

They who? Your statement implies the US Government.

Richard

[T-Rock]

They who? Your statement implies the US Government.

> http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/146379.pdf

A recent Arizona law, S.B. 1070, has generated significant attention and debate at home and around the world. The issue is being addressed in a court action that argues that the federal government has the authority to set and enforce immigration law. That action is ongoing; parts of the law are currently enjoined.

Source > http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com...ights-council/

ETA

Brewer condemns report to UN mentioning Ariz. law

> http://www.wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=2038512

[18DWife]

Not surprising

Nothing those loons do ,surprises me .

[Richard]

The president’s first-ever report on U.S. human rights to the UN Human Rights Council contains a rich vein of offensive material. So far, one aspect has not been reported: our petty president used the situation to bash Arizona’s immigration law — and possibly transfer jurisdiction over the law from Arizona to the UN.

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com...ights-council/

(_?_) What an astounding manure pile of malarkey that bit of reasoning is.

Mentioning the issue of AZ SB 1070 to point out the on-going national character of the immigration debate within the US - all within the larger context off a broad-brush information report on US Human Rights matters to the UN - is not "taking it to the UN" for any sort of approval or action on their or anybody else's part as implied in post #6 and stated in the referenced blog and post #8.

Report of the United States of America
Submitted to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
In Conjunction with the Universal Periodic Review

<snip>

V.2 Values and Immigration

92. That immigrants have been consistently drawn to our shores throughout our history is both a testament to and a source of the strength and appeal of our vibrant democracy. As he left office, President Reagan remarked that the United States is “still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.” Over the last 50 years, the U.S. has accepted several million refugees fleeing persecution from all corners of the globe as well as many millions of immigrants seeking a better life or joining family. Today, the United States and other countries to which a significant number of people seek to emigrate face challenges in developing and enforcing immigration laws and policies that reflect economic, social, and national security realities. In addressing these issues we seek to build a system of immigration enforcement that is both effective and fair.

93. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began a major overhaul of the U.S. immigration detention system in an effort to improve detention center management and prioritize health, safety, and uniformity among immigration detention facilities, while ensuring security and efficiency. As part of this effort, in conjunction with ongoing consultations with non-governmental organizations and outside experts, DHS issued revised parole guidelines, effective January 2010, for arriving aliens in expedited removal found to have a credible fear of persecution or torture. The new guidelines firmly establish that it is not in the public interest to detain those arriving aliens found to have a credible fear who establish their identities, and that they pose neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.

94. Under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, DHS may delegate authority to state and local officers to enforce federal immigration law. DHS has made improvements to the 287(g) program, including implementing a new, standardized Memorandum of Agreement with state and local partners that strengthens program oversight and provides uniform guidelines for DHS supervision of state and local agency officer operations; information reporting and tracking; complaint procedures; and implementation measures. DHS continues to evaluate the program, incorporating additional safeguards as necessary to aid in the prevention of racial profiling and civil rights violations and improve accountability for protecting human rights.

95. A recent Arizona law, S.B. 1070, has generated significant attention and debate at home and around the world. The issue is being addressed in a court action that argues that the federal government has the authority to set and enforce immigration law. That action is ongoing; parts of the law are currently enjoined.

96. President Obama remains firmly committed to fixing our broken immigration system, because he recognizes that our ability to innovate, our ties to the world, and our economic prosperity depend on our capacity to welcome and assimilate immigrants. The Administration will continue its efforts to work with the U.S. Congress and affected communities toward this end.

<snip>

pp.23 - 24 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/146379.pdf

Context is important. NXI = (Fr + Hr) - (O + R + Ts)

Richard's $.02