Trials of Guantanamo Suspects Begin Without a Lawyer or Reporter in Sight

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Trials of Guantanamo suspects begin without a lawyer or reporter in sight

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington

Published: 08 March 2007

Campaigners have condemned the Bush administration's plan to proceed with secret proceedings against 14 "high-value" terrorism suspects currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The suspects include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of organising the 11 September 2001 attacks.

The military tribunals, scheduled to begin tomorrow, will take place behind closed doors and away from the scrutiny of the media. Hundreds of previous hearings held to determine the formal status of the prisoners have been open to reporters. None of the suspects will be able to have a lawyer present.

The Pentagon has said that the so-called Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) are being held in secret to prevent the possible leaking of classified information. But legal campaigners said the decision had been taken to prevent the revelation of information embarrassing to the Bush administration.

"They're not going to let anybody close," said Clive Stafford Smith, of the UK-based group Reprieve, which represents several dozen Guantanamo prisoners, though none of the 14. "They are trying to stop anyone saying anything about the way they have been abused or which countries they were abused in."

 

IceRocket tags: guantanamo, trials, military tribunals, pentagon, bush

US Commander Predicts Baghdad Backlash

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The new U.S. commander in Iraq said on Thursday military force would not end violence unless talks were held with some militant groups and warned of more "sensational attacks" during the current crackdown in Baghdad.   Reuters

   One of these days somebody in the Bush administration will tell the citizen's of the United States something that we do not already know. Maybe these kind of news conferences are directed at the Fox News viewers as they seem to be the most mis-informed group in the country.

   The general did say also that al Qaeda was stepping up their attacks in order to provoke more of the sectarian violence which is threatening to knock Iraq into a civil war.    Source

   That statement alone tells me that the general's comments are aimed at Fox viewers because the rest of the country already knows that Iraq is in a civil war, not heading towards one.

 

IceRocket tags: iraq, us, militants, general david petraeus