Torture Prosecutions and Obama’s Radical Political Agenda
The Obama administration has apparently decided to look back and not forward, despite the president’s promise to do the opposite. The Los Angeles Times reports:
U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. is poised to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate alleged CIA abuses committed during the interrogation of terrorism suspects, current and former U.S. government officials said. A senior Justice Department official said that Holder envisioned an inquiry that would be narrow in scope, focusing on “whether people went beyond the techniques that were authorized” in Bush administration memos that liberally interpreted anti-torture laws.
Now the chances of actually convicting anyone is slight we are told. (“Current and former CIA and Justice Department officials who have firsthand knowledge of the interrogation files contend that criminal convictions will be difficult to obtain because the quality of evidence is poor and the legal underpinnings have never been tested.”) And even dogged activists opposed to Bush-era policies find it unseemly to go after “low-ranking operators.” But that won’t stop Attorney General Eric Holder, who presumably has the full backing of the president.
Moreover, any suggestion that this prosecution is required by the “law” or that the “facts have led” the Justice Department inextricably to this decision is nonsense. As the Times details, the law on “torture” requires that the defendant have harbored specific intent to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (“a daunting legal threshold”), and it appears that the accused CIA operatives were not even informed of the applicable standards they allegedly violated.
So what is really going on here?
Once again, as we have so often seen in the Obama-Holder Justice Department, we are left to conclude that this is not the impartial enforcement of law but a political agenda at work. Whether it is dismissal of a judgment against the New Black Panthers in an obvious case of voter intimidation, throwing out decades-old Justice Department precedent on voting rights for the District of Columbia, or recommending that the president must release detainee abuse photos, the Holder Justice Department evidences one goal: how to further the agenda of the far left. In each of these cases obvious legal precedent and relevant facts are overlooked in furtherance of an objective which invariably pleases the president’s netroot base including the most liberal members of Congress.
Barack Obama is probably already a marginalized president. The odds are against him getting any serious legislation passed in Congress. His increasing weakness will encourage many other people to start doing their own thing. Eric Holder has little reason to fear Obama. I still expect the president to eventually experience some sort of mental breakdown and resign before the end of his term. Hillary Clinton will also be likely to push the envelope. She may essentially even be carrying out her own foreign policy at this very moment! The insiders are very well aware that Obama does not have his act together. They are going to take full advantage of him.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and give Obama the benefit of the doubt. I think people in his government act like they run their own private fiefdoms and pretty much do as they like without consulting the boss. This is typical in tyrannical regimes. Hitler had the same problem. It’s how they are kept happy and on the boss’ team.
Pelosi shoots off her ignorant mouth, as does Biden. Holder wants to prosecute, or no, he doesn’t, then he does again. Panetta defies Pelosi. Clinton actually believes she’s doing things, but then Bill gets sent in without her. Geithner sets economic policy, often unknowingly at odds with Obama. Obama doesn’t wait for his Generals’ recommendations, and they say, “WTF?”
Some say there are test balloons and such, but I just don’t think Obama is that competent. He simply lacks executive skills, period. I think this is exactly what we on the Right predicted during the campaign – incompetence.
Panetta, step to the plate. Time to bat!! RESIGN in protest of the witch hunt.
Well, this too little too late. They should have done this years ago when we were murdering people we had taken captive. It has already been shown that over a hundred prisoners have died as a direct result of our treatment of them. From the top down, they knew this was happening, and it is disgraceful that as a nation, we are not holding these people accountable.
robbie v: get off the demo talking points. . .this is not about Bush, but oblammo and company.Bush is gone, let it go. . .
Holder is clearly in office to implement Obama’s mandate of tearing down our republic one piece at a time. The politicization of the justice department is just one more piece of the puzzle, from health care, to cap, tax, and destroy, to sotomayor, etc.
Robert V says: Well, this too little too late. They should have done this years ago when we were murdering people we had taken captive. It has already been shown that over a hundred prisoners have died as a direct result of our treatment of them. From the top down, they knew this was happening, and it is disgraceful that as a nation, we are not holding these people accountable.
What is it with you clowns? 3,000 people were murdered on 9/11, thousands more in other attacks by these Godless savages and you are crying crocodile tears over 100 miserable savages? you and your ilk make me sick to my stomach.
I wish that Holder would either sh*t or get off the pot. I vote for a full Congressional bi-partisan hearing. Bring in all the players. Bring in all the data with a timeline of what we knew and when we knew it. This is the only way to fully vindicate Bush and Cheney. Pelosi and Holder and the rest of the foxes in the current henhouse know that this will be the outcome and that’s why they never fully push for a full hearing. It’s always just a carrot dangling to keep their liberal coyotes-who-want-to-see-Bush-on-trial at bay.
Always just a hint that they might act. Always a hearing on the horizon. Why not do it NOW?
Let’s see if Holder owns a set and puts up or shuts up. I’m ready for Bush’s much overdue ticker-tape parade.
Interesting to note that Bush will be remembered for his never wavering courage in the face of the terrorists and Obama will be remembered for having his polling places protected by the Black Panthers. Oh, and for wanting us all to wait in line for our health care.
I think they are deliberately stirring up the American people by throwing all this at us at once. I wish I could believe it was incompetence. I know there is plenty of that, but there is also a sinisterness about it all.
#5 Rick
“Bush is gone, let it go. . .”
That’s a Republican talking point. Your turn.
If they did nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about. Right? Or is there some principle involved here?
Obama lied, Jennifer’s delusions still haven’t died.
I don’t know why anyone would treat this administration as a normal presidency. It’s the unfolding of his stated intention of remaking our country to conform to his socialist and African anti-colonial fantasies. To believe otherwise, sorry Jen, is delusional.
Never waste a good crisis of confidence.
Pres. Obama hows that Heath Care program going for you?
Cap and Trade?
Tax and Spend?
Holder:
“Lets take the little peoples minds off of failure and have some news media show trials.”
Mr./Mrs. CIA agent “Who/how many did you torture and murder?”
“Did you drag any of their fingernails across waterboards?”
CIA agent:
Sir/Madame chairperson:
“On the advice of my lawyer I refuse to answer that question it might incriminate me in a court of law,
I request my protection under the 5th amendment.”
Boring-
“Dear what channel can I find the Gillian’s Island reruns?”
4. Robert V wrote:
It has already been shown that over a hundred prisoners have died as a direct result of our treatment of them.
Peter writes: As compared to the THOUSANDS of INNOCENT people these monsters and murderers have killed!
Whose side are you on? You feel so bad for the poor widdle tewwowists? Go move to Afghanistan or Pakistan and be with YOUR people.
it’s all political.
still not sure if the black panthers thing is racial or just that the thugs in office are just that pro-criminal. …it is probably both.
that the american people elected a marxist to be president is still a shock. and that the republicans didn’t mount a better opposition to the now supreme court racist is also a shock.
things will get a lot worse, many of those things will not be reversible in the real sense (only in the theoretical)
I really shouldn’t be surprised. even though it is a non sustainable evolutionary process it does seem inevitable given the inputs.
Wow. Whose side am I on? Well, number one I am on Jesus’ side. Number two, I am on the non-murdering side. Number three, I am on the justice side. All sides that the Bush administration were not on when they set up their torture program. Terrorists killed thousands on 9/11. That is not even close to an acceptable excuse to set up a program that one would expect to see in North Korea or Iran. For goodness sakes, we are suppose to be the leader in human rights on this planet, and we’re shackeling people to the ceiling and leaving them to die?
The combination of legislative overreach, massive deficits, and various cabinet departments working at cross-purposes is going to bring this administration to a screeching halt. The ideological blinders worn by the far left preclude them from seeing the backlash that is building from coast to coast. I understand that some statements like the “astroturf” comments are contrived to control the message. I’m equally convinced that a faction within the Democrat party really does believe that conservatives are “nazis” and little better than “domestic terrorists.” What happens when people lose their perspective on reality is rather easy to predict. This mess is going to look like a freeway pile-up before it’s all over. Gawd help us!
RobertV: Reuters reports five prisoners died in custody, four by suicide and one by cancer. So where are your references??
Just what is your endgame there RobertV? What is the endgame of the left?
What will happen when your sanctimonious smuggness at getting even with Pres. Bush backfires and we are attacked again? Attacked because the CIA is afraid of obtaining information that may save American lives but may cost them their careers? Attacked because we have loosened our surveillance methods. Attacked because we seem weak.
So what you are saying is that your feelings of self righteousness is more compelling than saving American lives? Your borderline psychosis tied to an ideology is more important than the lives of Americans?
The only reason why you and your fellow lefties can speak and think like this is because you are anonymous and that if we are attacked again, you cannot be held responsible. IF there was some way of holding you responsible for the deaths of Americans, then I bet you would not be so contemptuous of American lives.
#6
Stuart Reed
Your last paragraph says it all…there is nothing more to add. Thank you for your cogent post.
77/88
S.M.
We either have a rogue Justice Department, operating on flimsy legal ground and contrary to the views of the president, or a Justice Department which is carrying out precisely the policies — from voter rights to CIA prosecution — which the White House desires.
I’d say Holder wouldn’t be going forth w/o the endorsement of the White House. Maybe Obama would welcome some distraction from his own serial boondoggles.
Key to proving torture is intent to inflict excruciating pain. A lot of legal game playing will revolve around that. Unfortunately, one or more CIA people might get “set up” through the justice inquiry. (think Scooter Libby)
A lot of time, stress money & resources will be spent on Eric’s Folly.
Shameful.
Andrew McCarthy: Drop the Investigation of CIA Interrogators
15. Robert V wrote:
Wow. Whose side am I on? Well, number one I am on Jesus’ side. Number two, I am on the non-murdering side. Number three, I am on the justice side.
Peter writes: Then you admit you are on the side of the US and that we are in a war and that war is a terrible thing but sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good, and if that means some monsterous scum of the earth who would just as soon blow your brains out as shake your hand accidentally dies in order to protect me and my family then that is fully justified.
In typical and predictable method, this is a move to reestablish the Hate Bush Syndrome and recapture lost momentum; the puppeteer figures Obama has lost traction with Death Care and is in danger of losing credibility during the rest of his presidency. The old mantra, “Do what works” seems logical when chaos seems to be all around you.
The pathetic ineptitude of the administration becomes even more obvious when they lack the creativity to move on to new initiatives that might be more popular: instead, they resort to an old strategy of negativity that has already been disavowed. A desperate move signaling the preposterous nature of a clueless administration; using frantic gestures to gain support rather than listening to the people who are withdrawing support.
The Obama Handlers or puppeteers underestimate the intelligence of the electorate, true, the public fell for the mantra of “Hope and Change”: that doesn’t mean that when you stop hitting your finger with the hammer it doesn’t feel better.
The only thing worse than incompetent is an arrogant incompetent; for arrogance will prevent capitulation and the realization that a mistake has been made. He sows the seeds of his own destruction with his lack of humility and inability to admit even the slightest error.
A modest example, after calling the Cambridge Police Department stupid and accusing them of racial profiling, he could have smoothed out the whole affair and neutralized the damage to his image and administration by admitting that he jumped to conclusions and accused the police department prematurely: the game would have been over, with minimal damage; but, an arrogant man or a bigoted racist will never admit being in error even when it is his best interests to do so.
This is truly a comedy, a comedy that is much funnier than Hollywood turns out: it is as if the Obama and the Keystone Cops are walking through the mud and their boots keep coming off and they have to stand n the mud in their “White” socks to pull their boots out of the muck. It is a never ending tale of ineptitude and incompetence and those boots keep coming off. This is too funny.
Anyone else see this as a way to deflect attention away from the current tragedy in Afghanistan? Interesting that the Dems that did nothing but howl about the war in Iraq are now not even reporting the casualties currently escalating under Obama’s watch in Afghanistan.
RobertV, your sanctimonious attitude is exactly why we are in the predicament we are in today. There is absolutely no discipline allowed anywhere. Parents will be reported if they discipline their children. And you had better believe the children know it. Children and parents conspire against their teachers, tying their hands behind their backs. Policeman are not allowed to do their jobs for fear of being dragged through the coals! And if you really believe that we are like North Korea or Iran, I do believe you should visit there. And please do not use Jesus’ name except to praise Him.
Arguing with Robert V is a waste of your time, people. Neither facts nor logic are going to knock him off his pedestal of superior morality. There exists within the ranks of leftists a cadre for whom every issue is based on the internal process of self-image. You see it commonly in pacifists, vegans, Prius drivers, and white liberals who adopt black babies. It’s really just moral exhibitionism, but such people lack the self-awareness to understand their own motivations. Nor do such people understand that their politicians cynically pander to this self-image. The case of Cindy Sheehan illustrates the point rather well. She was lionized as a paragon of virtue by the leftist press when it suited the narrative. But as soon as she became a nuisance, she was thrown under the bus. Useful idiots, indeed.
…the current tragedy in Afghanistan
Obama ran on “this is the good war”.
Surprised he’s showing intimations of a lack of resolve to fully pursue it ? Another campaign fabrication falls by the wayside, how (not) surprising.
Afghanistan is a mess, despite our grandiose military strategies to “win” it. Karzai has weakly enough buddied up with some very bad elements and Taliban are entrenched in more than a few places.
Granted, Rubin is a piss-poor writer, so I’m having difficulty figuring out what this passage means:
As the Times details, the law on “torture” requires that the defendant have harbored specific intent to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (“a daunting legal threshold”), and it appears that the accused CIA operatives were not even informed of the applicable standards they allegedly violated.
So you’re saying that these people were given orders to use these techniques, but were given no parameters? I’m pretty sure that’s not accurate, but if it were, you’re arguing that these people shouldn’t be prosecuted, because no one told them when to stop physically abusing prisoners? Is that your position? I’m sure you’d rather leave it vague, because you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.
It’s really just moral exhibitionism…
Kind of a holier than thou thing.
Scratch one of these pretenders to the high moral ground and you’ll usually find a person you wouldn’t trust to have your back under any circumstances.
(I see Moho is ramping up for troll day…Undoubtedly, Moho is an ex-spurt on what went on in detainee interrogations as he is an ex-spurt on everything else under the sun.)
(over & out)
22. AThinkingPerson: “Anyone else see this as a way to deflect attention away from the current tragedy in Afghanistan? Interesting that the Dems that did nothing but howl about the war in Iraq are now not even reporting the casualties currently escalating under Obama’s watch in Afghanistan.”
And if Bush had stayed in Afghanistan where the real War on Terror was instead of dragging us into Iraq to fulfill his revenge fantasy, we would be sweeping up in Afghanistan done by now.
I’m sure it must irritate you that it always comes back to Bush, doesn’t it? Terrible presidencies have consequences.
Ah, right on queue, #28 Marklar comes in to cover Obama’s arse with his “if Bush” crap.
Welcome to the new reality Marklar. Afghanistan is Obama’s war.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-02-17-afghanistan-forces_N.htm
You’re right about one thing, terrible presidencies do have consequences. Wonder what Obama’s will be for the tragedy now happening in Afghanistan? Hope that doesn’t irritate you.
The condemnation of Holder and Obama is obviously right, and will ultimately need to be folded into the revival of the conservative movement hopefully underway. But the political implications are more interesting. there are two possibilities–one, Obama has already conceded the impossibility of any consensus for his policies, so he is hardening his position and adding to the goodies distributed to his most trusted allies–he’s fortifying his bunker, in other words. In that case, we can expect even more virulence than we have already seen–Obama will have to tell a lot of people to “stop talking.” Second, if may very well be that the Democrats, like many cults, have no sense of limits, self-discipline, or the checks and balances of reality. Even if, on some level, they realize that this will hurt them badly with most Americans, they just can’t help themselves. They just can’t free themselves from their obsessions with all those propagandistic hobby horses they’ve been clutching these past eight years. They are simply driven by revenge and a desire to loot, and these are extremely difficult passions to rein in, especially when they’ve been pent up so long.
In the end, the Democrats will simply self-destruct–the job of Republicans is to minimize the damage and be prepared to pick up as many pieces as possible. That will be much harder than it sounds.
I love ObamaThe President is increasingly proving that he does not know America or the American people. His agenda rests on the premise that Americans seek answers for everything in government regulation and handouts. Now in the face of mounting criticism, he seeks to quell it with repression of dissent and convoluted speeches assuring us, he thinks, that he is trustworthy and that what he wishes to do we should applaud rather than criticize. He is unqualified for the office he holds.
It’s getting courioser and courioser – why does this man keep engaging himself in self-destructive political acts?
I don’t even bother to say that sueing CIA operatives is greatly endangering this country – I’ll limit myself at paraphrasing Talleyrand’s more pragmatic way of seeing faux pas’ in politics: “This is not criminal, it much, much worse, it is simply stupid!”
I heard about our marching in Iraq as “smacking with a bat a nest of furious wasps” – good enough, but is attacking CIA in the current, very polarized political climate of this country very different of smacking with bat another nest of furious wasps?
Heavy political price will the Democrats pay for this idiocy!
Now some levity, from “Dennis The Peasant” via “American Thinker”:
NY Times: “President Obama said Monday “It’s very important for us to sequence these big initiatives in a way where they don’t all just crash at the same time,”
(I.e.: efforts to change the immigration system would be a major focus for his administration only next year, after other major priorities were accomplished, including passage of a new health care system, etc.)
#28 Marklar
“And if Bush had stayed in Afghanistan where the real War on Terror was instead of dragging us into Iraq to fulfill his revenge fantasy, we would be sweeping up in Afghanistan done by now.
I’m sure it must irritate you that it always comes back to Bush, doesn’t it? Terrible presidencies have consequences.”
Your ignorance is showing.
What do you know about war in Afghanistan? Have you read any military history on the region? Any of Michael Yon’s dispatches? The region is notoriously difficult to fight in due to terrain and the tribal ties of the Afghan people. Add to that safe havens in Pakistan where Taliban can train, recruit, rest, re-arm, and plan in relative safety where Coalition forces cannot attack and occupy it makes for a losing proposition. Moving the fight with Al Qaeda to Iraq was a good move (intentional or unintentional) if you are familiar with Sun Tzu’s writings.
The Taliban & Al Qaeda wised up and decided to take the fight back to their home turf, this war is gonna get ugly. Especially with the dumbass politicians running it.
Today I went to the Hospice where my ex wife is staying and we went to the new building where she will be moving to and die in all the children call her and come by at times and one lives only about 2 miles away (our youngest). As we were on our way to the new facility Rush Limbaugh was on and she said she didn’t want to hear it anymore she has had enough, the news of Obama being elected after she came to her senses after a lung cancer operation was bad enough (even though that was a success) and then to find that she also had 17 tumors in her brain (lost all her hair due to treatment) she decided she was going to just involve herself with her family.
With this mans policies many will find themselves in the same circumstances towards the end of their lives. She is 58 and I am 56, at least she may live to see one or two great grandchildren before she dies. I have a service connected disability from the military service but go there only as a last resort so I know what government run health care is.
Please if you are not registered to vote then do so as soon as possible and if you did not vote in protest in the last two elections then please VOTE and tell like minded friends to do the same to rid our country of this horrid government we now have in place.
It’s all about being both Stupid and Aggressive.
If you understand Obama and his minions, while all claim a cornucopia of higher education degrees, the reality is that not one of the bunch could catch their a$$ with both (or either) hands.
If you understand Stupid and Aggressive; then it all makes sense.
This is a rather obscure and silly debate. I vote for the incompetence angle as to what’s going on. How else to explain the rather public debate between Panetta and Holder? Obama surely can’t be behind both men, and both are experienced political insiders who are part of the Washington Democratic power structure. Saying he’s endorsing one or the other of them is to my mind premature, without him saying so himself, and so far he’s not said anything like “We need to prosecute these people.”
As to which war belongs to which president, and which one was/is successful, both wars belonged to President Bush while he was in office, and both of them now belong to President Obama. That simple. What most critics of the war in Iraq don’t understand (largely because of ignorance) is the differences between the two wars, which are profound. We overran Iraq conventionally, with an army led by tanks and armored personnel carriers, and covered by extensive air power. That army, or a portion of it, occupied the country and fought a pretty conventional counterinsurgency against Al Qaeda and the various other groups opposing our presence. Our forces used tanks, artillery, and air power liberally, where it was appropriate and we could minimize or even better negate civilian casualties. The war has for the most part been fought by the regular army and the conventional wing of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Afghanistan is a completely different war. While we have access to Iraq via seaports, we’ve never had that with Afghanistan. This means that everything we use in Afghanistan has to be flown in, and that in turn means we have always deployed a much smaller, more lightly-armed force there. The idea that when we invaded Iraq we had to redeploy large forces from Afghanistan to do so is ludicrous on its face, at least as far as ground forces go. The invasion of Iraq involved more than a hundred thousand troops: our troop strength in Afghanistan was always kept low, typically below 15,000. Not only that, but the troops involved in Afghanistan have tended to be of the more irregular variety: Special Forces, Rangers, light infantry, that sort of thing. Artillery has only rarely been used, and we’ve never even tried to move a tank or any sort of armored personnel carrier into the country, as far as I am aware. This has always been the case: it was true when Bush was president, and it’ll remain the case under Obama. President Obama is trying to move resources from one country to the other, but I think he’ll be reduced to doing cosmetic things to show he’s fulfilling campaign promises: near as I can tell the military doesn’t want the heavy stuff in Afghanistan, anyway. They think it’ll be counterproductive. Air power is serving as our artillery, for the most part, and while that’s not always a perfect solution it’s the best one given the logistics situation. Artillery is always difficult to supply with enough ammo, because the shells weigh so much individually.
I always said that the war in Afghanistan would be a long one, and nothing I’ve seen since I said it originally (in the days after 9/11) has disabused me of the notion. The country’s terrain makes guerilla warfare much more easy than it otherwise would be, and the people, especially the Pashtuns in the south and east, are among the most hostile to outsiders, in some ways anyway, in the world. The idea that we were going to invade, remove the government and replace it with a democracy, and then convince an illiterate and ignorant goatherd from the hills near the Khyber Pass that not only should he be voting for a government in Kabul (where he’s never been) but his wife or wives should be voting alongside him, is one that boggles the mind. It’s going to take a generation or two for us to convince them of this, and in the meanwhile, there will be fighting. Anyone who says otherwise either isn’t paying attention, or doesn’t want to tell the truth because of some agenda they have.
Robert V,
I am not a big net maven, but to use common web language:
I call BS on your post. Let’s see the data to back up your crap, and let’s see if it is real, or just some tissue paper some leftist geek web site with a server, a fax machine, and a copy of some phone numbers blew his nose on…
On a positive note, it looks like “The Globe” is looking into the birth certificate issue.
It would fulifill Pres. Obama’s vow to “look forward rather than back” if he would immediately prosecute Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bolton, all the top CIA officials, Pentagon officials, and throw in Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin just because they are hateful, subhuman slime. It would move us forward to a society of social justice and progressivism.
After that we should name Ground Zero “Mohammad Atta Islamic Peace Plaza.” (Some of us in the progressive movement think it should be named after Sheik Mohammad Khalid, but the moderates amongst us prevalied with this suggestion.)
A medal of Freedom award should suffice for Khaled, for all the injustices we did to him and his forbearnce of ur wickedness and sins.
We’ve been told for years now that Fascism was coming to America, notably by quite a few repeat subscribers to this site; and they were evidently right. I didn’t believe them, and for years just laughed at their declarations. But, I have changed my mind…they were right…they were just off by 1 presidential election…which, when you consider the percentages, isn’t bad…within 3%. I most heartily congratulate them on their accurate prediction!
I confess I’m at a loss to understand what they expect to get out of this.
When it comes to governing, the Obama cartel stinks on ice.
Not guilty by reason of managerial incompetence? But obviously, he was a much better choice that Palin. She didn’t know what she was doing. He….err….umm….
Leftist talking points, in the US since 2006 when i started tracking them, have been gutted now.Three people were tortured using techniques very similar to Navy seals training.In other words they blew everything out of proportion,fell for enemy propaganda, and used fear to win votes.We are dealing with an enemy who doesnt give a rats ass about human rights,the geneva convention,or the rule of law.Im talking about the Taliban and their ilk around the globe not republicans.
I was right to support Mccain,even though some conservative circles didnt like him.I suspect Obama will be a one term president.
A medal of Freedom award should suffice for Khaled, for all the injustices we did to him and his forbearnce of ur wickedness and sins.
Indeed, Dr. L, indeed
However if the poor, persecuted KSM (currently serving as pawn for assorted ACLU types and the machinations of the attorney general) had his way, the infidel would grant him his wish and put him out of his misery.
These poor put upon guys at Guantanamo are fish food for a whole snarky crowd of American lawyers with, undoubtedly, some America haters in the mix.
They are also valuable as one of the few remaining avenues to “get” Cheney/Bush, ideally directly, but obliquely through the CIA might have to do.
Alas, the poor Khalid Sheikh Mohammed & friends will just have to postpone meeting up with the virgins for awhile, very frustrating, I’m sure.