America's Shame

Mr_Burns

How ashamed I am of Bush and this Administration, including Congress and the=
=20
American people. The destruction of the Constitution, the abandonment of th=
e=20
concept of fair and open trials, the violations of human rights and=20
international laws, the adoption of cruel techniques and the threats and=20
intimidation use by our government to secure "convictions" of those soldiers=
=20
of the Taliban. =20

Shame on America. Shame on Americans. =20

It's no wonder the world now despises us. We've gone back on everything we=20
professed to believe in, we have performed those acts we derided other for.=20=
=20
And Americans stand behind these crimes. =20

We've betrayed our founders, our Lord and ourselves.

Robert T.

Tribunals Nearly Ready for Afghanistan Prisoners

By NEIL A. LEWIS

WASHINGTON, April 7 =E2=80=94 After nearly 18 months of planning, the Pentag=
on is at=20
last ready to put in place its system of military tribunals to try people=20
captured in the war in Afghanistan, officials and lawyers outside the=20
government say.

The officials and lawyers said the military would, in the next few weeks,=20
complete work on the structure of the first tribunal, the final list of=20
crimes that could be prosecuted and the list of military officers who would=20
serve on the panels, as well as those who would prosecute the crimes and=20
those available as defense lawyers.=20

Soon after that, they said, they will announce the first small group of=20
detainees to face charges of war crimes. The proceedings will take place at=20
the United States naval base at Guant=C3=A1namo Bay, Cuba, where some 640=20
detainees are being held.

Despite the fact that there will be a system in place, many officials said=20
that there might not be an actual proceeding anytime soon. The Pentagon hope=
s=20
that the first handful of prisoners charged will be persuaded to accept plea=
=20
bargains in which they could plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for=20
providing new information about Al Qaeda.

In essence, the first tribunal is supposed to serve as a continuation of the=
=20
plan to get as much information as possible out of the detainees, with the=20
actual prosecution of any crimes as a secondary goal.=20

"The priority has always been to gather intelligence from these people," one=
=20
official said.

Another official cautioned, however, that there was no guarantee that the=20
defendants would go along with this plan. In that event, the military would=20
be obliged to go ahead with a proceeding.

Under the military order signed by President Bush on Nov. 13, 2001, the=20
tribunals may be used only for noncitizens who were members of Al Qaeda or=20
who have "engaged in, aided or abetted, or conspired to commit, acts of=20
international terrorism, or acts in preparation therefor, that have caused,=20
threaten to cause, or have as their aim to cause injury to or adverse effect=
s=20
on the United States," or who have harbored those people.

That would seem to prevent the use of the tribunals for people captured=20
during the war in Iraq unless Mr. Bush amends the order.=20

Officials have already said that they are planning two other kinds of=20
tribunals for captured Iraqis. One would be military tribunals for those=20
charged with crimes in connection with the current fighting. There would be=20
separate civilian tribunals conducted by Iraqi lawyers and judges with the=20
help of the United States to prosecute crimes against humanity committed ove=
r=20
the past 20 years, including charges of genocide against the Kurds.

W. Hays Park, special assistant to the Army for war crimes, told reporters=20
that Iraq was violating several main tenets of the Geneva Conventions. Mr.=20
Park said Iraq had violated the conventions by broadcasting gruesome picture=
s=20
of dead coalition troops and showing prisoners of war forced to answer=20
interrogations, and had committed treachery by falsely using white flags of=20
surrender to attack forces and having soldiers disguise themselves in=20
civilian clothing.

Pierre-Richard Prosper, ambassador for war crimes issues, said the use of ci
vilian garb by Iraqi fighters had "caused numerous civilian casualties and=20
has put thousands of civilians in harm's way." Mr. Prosper said the=20
convention's prohibition against using civilian garb was intended to maintai=
n=20
a distinction between civilians and soldiers.

He also said that Kuwait might establish tribunals for crimes committed in=20
the 1991 gulf war that could not previously be prosecuted because the war=20
ended before Iraqi officials could be captured.

The prisoners at Guant=C3=A1namo are in a kind of legal limbo because the=20
administration has refused to designate them as prisoners of war, a status=20
that would entitle them to immunity from prosecution for many acts committed=
=20
during a lawful war, among other things.

The government contends that the prisoners are "unlawful combatants," and=20
that position has drawn criticism from human rights groups as well as a grou=
p=20
of British judges who, in an opinion last November, denounced the treatment=20
of the detainees.

Officials said the prisoners loosely fell into three categories people who=20
were probably needlessly detained, a few Qaeda members and a group of people=
=20
about whom they know little.

The military has compiled a list of 24 crimes for which the detainees may be=
=20
prosecuted, including murder, the taking of hostages, degrading treatment of=
=20
prisoners, use of human shields and false use of a white flag to wage war.

Mere membership in Al Qaeda is not considered a crime, but the list includes=
=20
a broad-gauge charge of "related offenses," like conspiracy and aiding or=20
abetting, attempting, soliciting or ordering any of the 24 crimes mentioned.

Human rights organizations have criticized the Pentagon's plans for, among=20
other things, allowing no appeal to a civilian court. The critics say=20
international law requires that captured soldiers have the same right of=20
appeal as soldiers in the host country. In the United States, convictions in=
=20
military courts are ultimately appealable in the civilian courts.

The defendants will be represented by military lawyers, and the regulations=20
also allow for some private lawyers to be retained. But the nonmilitary=20
lawyers would have to be cleared to examine classified and even some=20
nonclassified documents. They would probably be hired by detainees' families=
.

--part1_132.1d620ccd.2bc45d8b_boundary
Content-Type text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding quoted-printable
Content-Language en

<HTML>How ashamed I am of Bush and this Administration, incl=
uding Congress and the American people. The destruction of the Constit=
ution, the abandonment of the concept of fair and open trials, the violation=
s of human rights and international laws, the adoption of cruel techniques a=
nd the threats and intimidation use by our government to secure "convictions=
" of those soldiers of the Taliban. 
 
Shame on America. Shame on Americans. 
 
It's no wonder the world now despises us. We've gone back on everythin=
g we professed to believe in, we have performed those acts we derided other=20=
for. And Americans stand behind these crimes. 
 
We've betrayed our founders, our Lord and ourselves. 
 
Robert T. 
 
Tribunals Nearly Ready fo=
r Afghanistan Prisoners 
 
By NEIL A. LEWIS<FONT=
COLOR=3D"#000000" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR #ffffff" SIZE=3D3 FAMILY=3D"S=
ANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"> 
 
WASHINGTON, April 7 =E2=
=80=94 After nearly 18 months of planning, the Pentagon is at last ready to=20=
put in place its system of military tribunals to try people captured in the=20=
war in Afghanistan, officials and lawyers outside the government say. 
 
The officials and lawyers said the military would, in the next few weeks, co=
mplete work on the structure of the first tribunal, the final list of crimes=
that could be prosecuted and the list of military officers who would serve=20=
on the panels, as well as those who would prosecute the crimes and those ava=
ilable as defense lawyers. 
 
Soon after that, they said, they will announce the first small group of deta=
inees to face charges of war crimes. The proceedings will take place at the=20=
United States naval base at Guant=C3=A1namo Bay, Cuba, where some 640 detain=
ees are being held. 
 
Despite the fact that there will be a system in place, many officials said t=
hat there might not be an actual proceeding anytime soon. The Pentagon hopes=
that the first handful of prisoners charged will be persuaded to accept ple=
a bargains in which they could plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange fo=
r providing new information about Al Qaeda. 
 
In essence, the first tribunal is supposed to serve as a continuation of the=
plan to get as much information as possible out of the detainees, with the=20=
actual prosecution of any crimes as a secondary goal. 
 
"The priority has always been to gather intelligence from these people," one=
official said. 
 
Another official cautioned, however, that there was no guarantee that the de=
fendants would go along with this plan. In that event, the military would be=
obliged to go ahead with a proceeding. 
 
Under the military order signed by President Bush on Nov. 13, 2001, the trib=
unals may be used only for noncitizens who were members of Al Qaeda or who h=
ave "engaged in, aided or abetted, or conspired to commit, acts of internati=
onal terrorism, or acts in preparation therefor, that have caused, threaten=20=
to cause, or have as their aim to cause injury to or adverse effects on the=20=
United States," or who have harbored those people. 
 
That would seem to prevent the use of the tribunals for people captured duri=
ng the war in Iraq unless Mr. Bush amends the order. 
 
Officials have already said that they are planning two other kinds of tribun=
als for captured Iraqis. One would be military tribunals for those charged w=
ith crimes in connection with the current fighting. There would be separate=20=
civilian tribunals conducted by Iraqi lawyers and judges with the help of th=
e United States to prosecute crimes against humanity committed over the past=
20 years, including charges of genocide against the Kurds. 
 
W. Hays Park, special assistant to the Army for war crimes, told reporters t=
hat Iraq was violating several main tenets of the Geneva Conventions. Mr. Pa=
rk said Iraq had violated the conventions by broadcasting gruesome pictures=20=
of dead coalition troops and showing prisoners of war forced to answer inter=
rogations, and had committed treachery by falsely using white flags of surre=
nder to attack forces and having soldiers disguise themselves in civilian cl=
othing. 
 
Pierre-Richard Prosper, ambassador for war crimes issues, said the use of ci=
vilian garb by Iraqi fighters had "caused numerous civilian casualties and h=
as put thousands of civilians in harm's way." Mr. Prosper said the conventio=
n's prohibition against using civilian garb was intended to maintain a disti=
nction between civilians and soldiers. 
 
He also said that Kuwait might establish tribunals for crimes committed in t=
he 1991 gulf war that could not previously be prosecuted because the war end=
ed before Iraqi officials could be captured. 
 
The prisoners at Guant=C3=A1namo are in a kind of legal limbo because the ad=
ministration has refused to designate them as prisoners of war, a status tha=
t would entitle them to immunity from prosecution for many acts committed du=
ring a lawful war, among other things. 
 
The government contends that the prisoners are "unlawful combatants," and th=
at position has drawn criticism from human rights groups as well as a group=20=
of British judges who, in an opinion last November, denounced the treatment=20=
of the detainees. 
 
Officials said the prisoners loosely fell into three categories people who=20=
were probably needlessly detained, a few Qaeda members and a group of people=
about whom they know little. 
 
The military has compiled a list of 24 crimes for which the detainees may be=
prosecuted, including murder, the taking of hostages, degrading treatment o=
f prisoners, use of human shields and false use of a white flag to wage war.=
 
 
Mere membership in Al Qaeda is not considered a crime, but the list includes=
a broad-gauge charge of "related offenses," like conspiracy and aiding or a=
betting, attempting, soliciting or ordering any of the 24 crimes mentioned.<=
BR>
 
Human rights organizations have criticized the Pentagon's plans for, among o=
ther things, allowing no appeal to a civilian court. The critics say interna=
tional law requires that captured soldiers have the same right of appeal as=20=
soldiers in the host country. In the United States, convictions in military=20=
courts are ultimately appealable in the civilian courts. 
 
The defendants will be represented by military lawyers, and the regulations=20=
also allow for some private lawyers to be retained. But the nonmilitary lawy=
ers would have to be cleared to examine classified and even some nonclassifi=
ed documents. They would probably be hired by detainees' families.<FO=
NT COLOR=3D"#000000" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR #ffffff" SIZE=3D3 FAMILY=
=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"> 
</HTML>
--part1_132.1d620ccd.2bc45d8b_boundary--