By GottaLaff
Encouraging news... maybe. Another trial balloon? Maybe...
Big news on The Chris Matthews show today from NBC Justice correspondent Pete Williams:
Williams - "The Obama administration's review of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay has yet to find a single detainee who needs needs to be held indefinitely, and their feeling now is they may only have two categories: those to be released, and those to be put on trial. This third category of people that have to be held forever? That may simply not exist."
Matthews - "In other words, we can either prove a criminal case against somebody, or we let them go?"
Williams - "Yes."
After nearly 8 years of imprisonment and severe abuse, Fayiz al-Kandari may finally feel slightly more optimistic. He is still lacking one very important thing, though: His day in court.
And please note the use of the word "may" in Williams' statements.
And when they say "trial", are they referring to military commissions? Because those simply do not work. They are based on coerced testimony and hearsay.
If it is, indeed, what they mean, then this news isn't quite as good as it looks at first glance.
Via a Commenter at Kos, where this was posted:
Also, I'm wondering if they still reserve the right to indefinitely detain someone without due process in the future upon the dubious preventive detention policy and are merely saying that as of now they haven't found anyone who justifies it, or if this is a de facto way of repudiating this policy without having to formally do so?I'm wondering that, too. I'll have to check with Fayiz's attorney, Lt. Col. Barry Wingard.
H/t: Muttlikemeblog
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3 comments:
these trial balloons are too nerve racking on people like us who are too emotionally involved in all the Washington talk
Half of the crap you hear as potential policies (or policy changes) on the war and detention front are likely designed to keep the villagers and GOP senators off Obama's back until he actually formulates a workable policy. Despite what a lot of supporters of Obama seem to believe, it usually takes some time to develop a workable policy, especially if the guys before you a) royal screwed everything up, b) lied about it for years, and c) you had no clue how deep you were in until you sorted through all the paperwork.
What's more, when he fails to actually follow through on something that appears to be just as draconian as Bush, the various interest groups on the left get to claim victory for having pressured him to do what he was likely going to do all along.
Laffy - I believe the problem isn't Guantanamo Bay. It think the Bagram detainee's are the issue. Host countries are not letting some of them return. I think this is what the indefinite nature of detention will end up being about. It's also why I believe that their status should change from enemy combatant (no rights) to POW with rights after a trial.
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