Have we become that which we fought so hard to defeat?
Yesterday, I talked about an issue that seems to have dropped off the national “radar”, to the detriment of us all, New Orleans. Today, I’m going to discuss another such issue that has been swept under the rug by the mainstream media… the gulag at Guantanamo Bay.
Today, there are still nearly 500 prisoners at Guantanamo, being held without charges, in an administration-created legal limbo that denies them any rights under U.S. and international law. The Supreme Court ruled two years ago that detainees could use the U.S. court system to appeal their detentions. However, a combination of administration stall tactics, virtually no access to legal counsel, and the formidable bureaucracy of the U.S. justice system has made that all but impossible for most of the detainees.
The case of two such detainees, a pair of Chinese Muslims who have been held at Gitmo for 3 years, and in U.S. custody for 4 years, ran into a roadblock yesterday. The Supreme Court refused to hear a direct appeal of their detention. A federal judge has already ruled that their detention was illegal, but stated there was nothing U.S. courts could do about it. The administration claims that they are working to release the two men (and 36 other Chinese Muslims) to a third country (to be determined), because they are afraid they will be tortured or killed if they are returned to China. Members of the detainees ethnic group, the Uighurs, who are themselves refugees residing in D.C., have offered to put up these detainees, even give them jobs. For reasons beyond explanation, the administration opposes that. Bushco says of the men’s continued illegal incarceration, it’s OK, because “the men have had television, a stereo system, books and recreational opportunities including soccer, volleyball and ping pong.” Well hot damn! Why would they ever want to leave?
The fact that a gulag-like facility like the prison camp at Guantanamo even exists is an atrocity in and of itself. The fact that it exists under the auspices of the U.S. military and our federal government is a crime against the very foundations of what our nation is supposed to stand for. This is what we found so abhorrent about the former Soviet Union, and what we still take issue with the Chinese government over. That’s what always made us the “good guys” and the communists the “bad guys”. Well Mr. Bush, the world is watching. Who are the good guys now? ‘Cause it sure ain’t us.
Today, there are still nearly 500 prisoners at Guantanamo, being held without charges, in an administration-created legal limbo that denies them any rights under U.S. and international law. The Supreme Court ruled two years ago that detainees could use the U.S. court system to appeal their detentions. However, a combination of administration stall tactics, virtually no access to legal counsel, and the formidable bureaucracy of the U.S. justice system has made that all but impossible for most of the detainees.
The case of two such detainees, a pair of Chinese Muslims who have been held at Gitmo for 3 years, and in U.S. custody for 4 years, ran into a roadblock yesterday. The Supreme Court refused to hear a direct appeal of their detention. A federal judge has already ruled that their detention was illegal, but stated there was nothing U.S. courts could do about it. The administration claims that they are working to release the two men (and 36 other Chinese Muslims) to a third country (to be determined), because they are afraid they will be tortured or killed if they are returned to China. Members of the detainees ethnic group, the Uighurs, who are themselves refugees residing in D.C., have offered to put up these detainees, even give them jobs. For reasons beyond explanation, the administration opposes that. Bushco says of the men’s continued illegal incarceration, it’s OK, because “the men have had television, a stereo system, books and recreational opportunities including soccer, volleyball and ping pong.” Well hot damn! Why would they ever want to leave?
The fact that a gulag-like facility like the prison camp at Guantanamo even exists is an atrocity in and of itself. The fact that it exists under the auspices of the U.S. military and our federal government is a crime against the very foundations of what our nation is supposed to stand for. This is what we found so abhorrent about the former Soviet Union, and what we still take issue with the Chinese government over. That’s what always made us the “good guys” and the communists the “bad guys”. Well Mr. Bush, the world is watching. Who are the good guys now? ‘Cause it sure ain’t us.
posted by Marlipern @ 1:34 PM
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