May 19th, 2009
Posted by Chris Anders, Senior Legislative Counsel, ACLU at 5:53pm	Torture

Military Commissions, Obama-Style

It’s official: Bush-era military commissions are back.

And the Obama administration has even put its stamp of approval on them. They have made a few changes, but the idea is still the same.

If hearsay is admissible, there is no protection against evidence that was beaten out of a witness (who is not present in court) from being used to convict someone. Given how pervasive the use of torture and abuse was in interrogations, there is a very significant danger that detainees may be convicted based on evidence obtained by torture or abuse.

So, we are now about to get the third scheme for putting on trial the Guantánamo detainees who President Bush used to call the worst of the worst. The first commission scheme was declared illegal by the Supreme Court. The second commission scheme was such a mess that President Obama suspended the trials. And now we have the third scheme. After all these years and all these schemes, only three people have been convicted at Guantánamo (out of the nearly 1,000 detainees who went through Guantánamo) — including an Australian kangaroo trapper who pled guilty as a way to get OUT of Guantánamo and return home to freedom in Australia.

Obama would be much better off putting anyone he believes should be charged into the regular civilian criminal courts — the same U.S. courts that have been busy with the hard work of holding real trials of terrorism defendants, and actually sending many of them off to prison after conviction — instead of trying to rig some new lawless scheme.

Permalink |	Torture

Tags: Close Guantanamo

1. Givemeabreak Says:
   May 19th, 2009 at 5:24pm

   Come on ACLU, torture is a legitimate method proven to work to get the truth out of somebody! I mean, who would ever pretend to know something just to escape being tortured and abused?

   Trust me, nobody hates torturing people more than the cowardly sadists who administered it.

   Okay, I'm done being sarcastic now.

2. Jeremy Says:
   May 19th, 2009 at 11:04pm

   LMAO, justice system, we don't have one!!!!!!!!! Do you think the terrosit cares if he beheads an american, why do we have to be humane when the people that want to hurt us don't give one thought to being humane?????? Once again the ACLU are just stickin thier big ugly head where it doesn't belong!!!!

3. Ed Bradford Says:
   May 20th, 2009 at 1:46am

   What does the ACLU propose to do should a Gitmo detainee be freed due to excellent defense council offered by the ACLU? Should that freed person, trained in Afghanistan's terrorist training schools, be set free to collect welfare support from our newly rejuvinated welfare society? Can someone address that question?

4. Hawaiian style Says:
   May 20th, 2009 at 4:46am

   The more things change the more they stay the same.

   Obama has caved into the CIA and the Military.

   Kangaroo courts. These military commissions are an astounding black mark on the United States and our "Nation of laws".

   It is astounding how Presidents suddenly upon gaining the office feel they no longer are subject to the law.

   How would one live with oneself if he knows, he knows, that he is going to convict men to a life in prison or worse in a court that he rigged to be sure they were convicted? This is the action of a King, not a Democratic President.

   Auwe, Auwe.

5. Paen Says:
   May 20th, 2009 at 1:23pm

   By doing this Obama has sunk to the level of Bush.

6. Dino Mason, working class stiff Says:
   May 20th, 2009 at 4:29pm

   It is alleged that Obama received a Law degree from Harvard in Constitutional Law. It may be the case that he was accepted at Harvard via the affirmative action programs, as was Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice. I have yet to witness any legal decision on their part that justifies that they earned a Harvard Law degree. Obama gets a grade of "F" from me. Clarence Thomas "F-". The unfortunate political prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Cuba have been incarcerated for over seven years without habeas corpus, and tortured beyond human endurance. The military the CIA and other high level government spin doctors, euphemistically call torture "enhanced interrogation", "water boarding" or some other twist of language to obfuscate the truth.

   The Gitmo political prisoners should be released forthwith and given just compensation for enduring torture at the hands of their captors. The torturers shall be prosecuted, preferably at the International Criminal Court or any court that will render a just sentence.

   Obama's taciturn position of this important issue is vile and disgusting. However can we expect justice from an individual whose US presidential inaugural ceremony was costly and extravagant to the extent of nausea.

   It seems that citizens in a Democracy, were witnessing the coronation of a monarch.

7. wild Says:
   May 20th, 2009 at 6:32pm

   I just don't get it~~~ How come the ACLU hasn't brought civil suit on behalf of some of these detainees? Seeking monumental amounts of CASH, these people have been harmed in innumerous ways by the U.S. gov.~~~ can't that case be made, in the face of MCA or other procedings? Heck why the heck are we not advancing in civil actions on behalf of the people that were rounded up and held, and then majically released for THEIR INNOCENCE, without not even and 'oops, we got it all wrong'.

   wild;)

8. The Captain Says:
   May 20th, 2009 at 11:36pm

   The ACLU sucks mah balls. Bunch of stupid hippies

9. My Views Says:
   May 23rd, 2009 at 4:06pm

   I am somewhat confused that the ACLU is wanting thosed captured on the battlefield against American Soldiers during war time to be treated and protected by our laws that are made to protect Americans. It shows the ACLU does not hold Americans to the same standard of those that have wanted to kill as many Americans as possible. These people do not enjoy the rights and privaledges of US citizens. Milatary Commissions have existed for many years and are established to prosecute our soldiers as well as those non-citizens captured during war time. Maybe you should consider Article 2 that deals with government rights to deal with these type of captured. You act like 9/11 never happened or we should just forget that our enemy killed thousands of inocent civilians in a planned attach on this country. Maybe you don't hold the laws of the most generous country in history unjust, but, in war time, we should have the right to prosecute our enemies without bringing these murderers to our country to be tried as a legal matter instead of allowing the military to try these enemies while protecting our men and women that are sacrificing their lives so groups like you can blame America for everything. For any liberal cause you bring suit and hold our fighting soldiers that volunteered to protect our freedoms against our fanatics that hate the freedoms we stand for our citizens.

   On another topic, what part of illegal don't you understand? We have people in this country that we don't know who they are and slap in the face those wanting to enter this country through legal means. It is not America that separates families because of the actions of the illegal to stay anymore than those who are caught committing crimes and are incarserated. We must be able to control the illegal immigration into this country because we don't know their identities nor their intentions. You need to come back to the realities and responsibilities to the people of this country and not support the politians that are corrupt and only act for those that supported their campaigns.

10. Ollie Says:
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 4:27pm

    Chris Anders is a red-diaper doper baby - and a scumbag "lawyer". The ACLU is another great idea gone horribly wrong when it was hijacked by pot-smoking liberals. Really, the vast majority of Americans believe the ACLU is a laughing joke. Chris Anders is a laughing joke.

11. Fuck you ACLU Says:
    Aug 27th, 2009 at 5:01pm

    Chris anders, your a joke, EVERYONE HATES THE ACLU, you were a good idea but now you have a god damn leftist adgenda and you are a bunch of assholes. FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!

12. Bill Says:
    Sep 17th, 2009 at 9:31am

    I hope and pray the the loved ones of all ACLU members are in a building with a bomb set to go off. The military has the person responsible for this bomb, and he knows when it will go off, but he is silent. He is very afraid of torture, but let's not do that even if it will save thousands of lives. Let's not upset the ACLU. It's OK that all those people will die, but it's not OK if torture can save their lives. How idiotic is that. The ACLU is a bunch on idiot attorneys who couldn't find a job in the real world. I hope mommy and daddy will forgive you assholes. Rule 1, you can't win with terrorists if you play by the rules. Rule 2, there is no rule 2.

13. Mike Studdon Says:
    Oct 23rd, 2009 at 12:51am

    The ACLU sucks shit. Fucking crazy lawyers. Fuck you ACLU. You pricks claim to support civil liberties, yet you said NOTHING when the civil liberties of anti-abortion protestors were challenged or when the young pagent contestant said she supported traditional marraige. But when a small group of crazy nuts go and disrupt the funerals of our young war heros, you want to protect the weirdos' rights to protest. SCREW YOU!

14. Mike Studdon Says:
    Oct 23rd, 2009 at 12:53am

    And don't fall for the ACLU's bullshit claim of "torture" ... it's not torture. Its harsh interrogation. FUCK YOU ACLU. FUCK YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!

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