Nbadan
06-21-2005, 06:25 PM
Bush rejects detainee abuse commission
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The White House on Tuesday rejected the proposed creation of an independent commission to investigate abuses of detainees held at the U.S. military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Pentagon has launched 10 major investigations into allegations of abuse, and that system was working well.
"People are being held to account," he said. "And we think that's the way to go about this."
McClellan said the Defense Department would continue to investigate any new allegations. And he noted that the Pentagon has appointed outsiders to some of its investigations.
<</SNIP>>
Ledger-Enquirer (http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/politics/11949202.htm)
Well knock me over with a feather and call me shocked! Who needs a independent Congressional investigation? That's for Merica' haters, and the last time we had one of those (Nixon), it didn't turn out so good for us...
There is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome in the WH...
Terror suspects have been held in the detention facility at Guantanamo for years without trial and without rights. Now, the Bush administration is coming under increasing criticism for its handling of so-called "illegal combatants." The president may soon be forced to find the key he threw away so long ago.
Bush's protestations in defense of his policies have done little to help. Two weeks ago, he attacked a human rights report from Amnesty International -- which referred to Guantanamo as "the Gulag of our times" -- as "absurd." But the comparison stuck and has become just one more thorn in the administration's side. The camp has become an image problem -- and a symbol for a world power that demands democracy and human rights from others, but doesn't always hold itself accountable to the same standards.
Fareed Zakaria, a columnist for Newsweek magazine, thinks the US government has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde problem. "While Dr. Jekyll makes speeches by day on Arab liberty, some nights he turns into Mr. Hyde," Zakaria wrote earlier this month. Even worse than the censure from outside, some of the most pointed criticism isn't coming from human rights organizations but from former Guantanamo guards or from detailed notes on interrogations held in the camp.
Government prosecutors are currently in the process of reviewing evidence against the detainees in preparation for possible trials or military tribunals. At the same time, it is almost unavoidable that a number of legal complaints against the US government -- for torture or mistreatment -- will be likewise brought to trial. More negative headlines would no doubt result. But in Washington, hope is awakening that they could be the last.
Link (http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,361461,00.html)
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The White House on Tuesday rejected the proposed creation of an independent commission to investigate abuses of detainees held at the U.S. military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Pentagon has launched 10 major investigations into allegations of abuse, and that system was working well.
"People are being held to account," he said. "And we think that's the way to go about this."
McClellan said the Defense Department would continue to investigate any new allegations. And he noted that the Pentagon has appointed outsiders to some of its investigations.
<</SNIP>>
Ledger-Enquirer (http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/politics/11949202.htm)
Well knock me over with a feather and call me shocked! Who needs a independent Congressional investigation? That's for Merica' haters, and the last time we had one of those (Nixon), it didn't turn out so good for us...
There is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome in the WH...
Terror suspects have been held in the detention facility at Guantanamo for years without trial and without rights. Now, the Bush administration is coming under increasing criticism for its handling of so-called "illegal combatants." The president may soon be forced to find the key he threw away so long ago.
Bush's protestations in defense of his policies have done little to help. Two weeks ago, he attacked a human rights report from Amnesty International -- which referred to Guantanamo as "the Gulag of our times" -- as "absurd." But the comparison stuck and has become just one more thorn in the administration's side. The camp has become an image problem -- and a symbol for a world power that demands democracy and human rights from others, but doesn't always hold itself accountable to the same standards.
Fareed Zakaria, a columnist for Newsweek magazine, thinks the US government has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde problem. "While Dr. Jekyll makes speeches by day on Arab liberty, some nights he turns into Mr. Hyde," Zakaria wrote earlier this month. Even worse than the censure from outside, some of the most pointed criticism isn't coming from human rights organizations but from former Guantanamo guards or from detailed notes on interrogations held in the camp.
Government prosecutors are currently in the process of reviewing evidence against the detainees in preparation for possible trials or military tribunals. At the same time, it is almost unavoidable that a number of legal complaints against the US government -- for torture or mistreatment -- will be likewise brought to trial. More negative headlines would no doubt result. But in Washington, hope is awakening that they could be the last.
Link (http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,361461,00.html)