Colin Powell finally spoke out against Gitmo; he wants it closed - now.
Yeah but Gitmo is only one of several, as we've been finding out recently. Five or six other countries are providing facilities like Gitmo for the CIA to bring prisoners to, and employ "enhanced interrogation" to.
cicerone imposter wrote:Colin Powell finally spoke out against Gitmo; he wants it closed - now.
Only because of the damage to our reputation. He made and reiterated the point that he didn't think anyone should be set free, only that more traditional methods of trial should be employed. At this juncture; he's probably dead right.
Kara: Howzhat?
Because Bush did away with Habeas Corpus. We need to have anybody charged with a crime by our government to have the ability to seek legal advise and protections.
O'Bill,
Powell didn't say traditional. He said they should be confined in the US and tried under our court system, with all of its safeguards, with lawyers to represent them, and not denied habeus corpus. If we can't make a case against a detainee under the rules of our system of justice, without torture or incommunicado solitary confinement for long periods, then that person should not be detained.
Kara wrote:O'Bill,
Powell didn't say traditional. He said they should be confined in the US and tried under our court system, with all of its safeguards, with lawyers to represent them, and not denied habeus corpus. If we can't make a case against a detainee under the rules of our system of justice, without torture or incommunicado solitary confinement for long periods, then that person should not be detained.
I'll grant you I was posting from memory; but where do you see a discrepancy? Is that not our tradition?
O'Bill...small point, I know, but I think what Colin was talking about was our laws, not just tradition.
I heard all of the Meet the Press interview rebroadcast on C-Span yesterday on our car satellite radio. I disagreed with him at some point and was gesturing strongly as I protested until my husband said, Do you want me to drive while you argue with Colin Powell?
I was really upset that he refused to accept any responsibility for the faulty intel that he parroted during the UN speech, some of which had been marked out as not totally supported but then got back in the speech by mistake. Powell blamed everyone but himself for the administration going to war, which was disappointing to me.
But he made up for it by saying that about Guantanamo and then his remark at the end, when Russert asked him not once but twice if he would support whatever Republican hopeful emerged as the candidate, and he refused to say Yes, adding each time that he would vote for the best man.
C.I., I just saw your question. My Whazzup, and following smilies were a reply to Gelisgesti.
And whazzup with you, C.I.?
Actually, just returned from eight days in Chicago to meet up with a2kers. If you're interested, I posted a travelogue with pictures in the Travel Forum. Also, we're at the initial phases of organizing the Second San Francisco Gathering. Many are showing interest, and hope you will consider joining us.
Thanks, C.I. I'll check in at the travel forum.
When is the SF gathering?
No real dates are tied down yet, but it seems enough people are considering August or September of this year. Some wants to come next year.
U.S. military: 14 troops killed in Iraq
By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer
34 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military announced the deaths of 14 American troops, including five killed Thursday in a single roadside bombing that also killed four Iraqis in Baghdad.
Elsewhere in Iraq, a suicide truck bomber struck the Sulaiman Bek city hall in a predominantly Sunni area in northern Iraq, killing at least 13 people and wounding 70, an Iraqi commander said.
The U.S. deaths raised to at least 3,545 the number of U.S. troops who have died since the war began in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
let me tell you why the US Military casualty count is too low.
There has been articles in the San Jose Merc about Army Sgt Frank Sandoval, one of many who have sacrificed their life for country. Frank was injured in Iraq in November 2005, and was treated at the Palo Alto Veteran's hospital. They did everything they could to help Frank return to a normal a life as possible, but was declared brain dead after another surgery. Frank's family members kept Frank on life-support so that his organs could be given to help others waiting for organs.
Michelle Sandoval, his wife, said: "Just imagine the excitement some family out there will feel when they get the news that there's somebody with their loved one's rare blood type ready to donate."
These families keep giving and giving, and Bush keeps taking and taking. Bush is more concerned about stem cells than the thousands he's responsible for killing and maiming.
We don't hear about these soldiers who have come back from Iraq with injuries, and later do not make it. Many come back with mental problems, and they will struggle throughout the rest of their lives trying to survive.
This administration tries hard to minimize what our country is paying for this illegal war in Iraq. It just angers me to no end that they can keep most Americans misinformed about the cost of this war.
Diplomacy with cooperation from the Middle East countries is the only way to find peace in the region. Tanks and war planes does the exact opposite.
Egypt invites leaders to peace summit
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 21 minutes ago
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Closing ranks against Hamas, Egypt's president invited Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders to a peace summit, officials said Thursday, the biggest show of support yet by moderate Arab states for beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The meeting will take place Monday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, said Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has invited Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Jordan's King Abdullah II. Jordan confirmed Abdullah would attend.
Abbas will call for a resumption of peace talks with Israel, arguing that only progress toward Palestinian statehood can serve as a true buffer against Hamas, which took control of Gaza by force last week, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said.
"The most important thing to realize is that time is of the essence," Erekat said. "We need to deliver the end of occupation, a Palestinian state. If we don't have hope, Hamas will export despair to the people."
As immediate steps, Abbas will ask Israel to remove West Bank checkpoints that disrupt daily life and trade, and to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax funds Israel froze after Hamas came to power last year.
c.i., did you see the piece on the editorial page of Tues., June 19, NYtimes by Fouad Ajami? Brothers to the Bitter End.
Most interesting.
