Obama Wants Guantanamo Trials

Obama Wants Guantanamo Trials

news.sky.com

Barack Obama wants Guantanamo Bay terror suspects to face US trials in a bid to close the controversial prison.
The US President-elect has described the Cuban Navy base as a "sad chapter in American history" and insisted that the US legal system could deal with the detainees.

Now his aides are putting together proposals to release some detainees while sending others to criminal trials on US soil.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well there’s two ways to look at this. On one hand the bush bashers can say “ it’s about time it should never been done in the first place and maybe Obama is going to bring change.” Or the Obama bashers will say ‘it comes as no surprise after all he’s looking after his Muslim friends.” Although I think true terrorist (and by true I mean proven beyond a doubt) should be locked up for life in a hell hole, from what I’ve read most people in guantanamo can be held for a long time with no charge or trial (correct me if I’m wrong) so is Obama sucking up for popularity with middle east or is he just seeing it as injustice that needs putting right?
Well how do you guys feel about this?


news.sky.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Yep thats what you want. After years of mind control and brain washing, give them a trial. That sounds fair, doesn't it.

What about all the people around the world, that have had there lifes ruined by america, do they get a chance to put america on trial, for murder like they should.

Pure garbage.

Jim Jones does it again.

Guantanamo is one of the stains on the character of the USA, amongst a few others that affected relations with other countries.
Obama has said that he wants to repair relationships with the other countries and this is a start.

Now these trials will most likely be the military type where there is no evidence and the defendants will probably get lengthy sentences and maybe more but the point im making is that Obama is not helping "his muslim pals" as some racsits like to dramatise it, he simply wants to draw a line in the sand and have closure of it.

There's something we in America hold as a right. And that is not only the right to a trial but a fair one, yes we got some ideas from the english.
Habeus Corpus

Right now the trials going on are anything but fair, the Defense Attorneys can't even meet with there clients.

If there is evidence of somebody being a terrorist then they should be brought to trial. But locking up people indefinately takes our great nation not only a step back, but destroys some of the very principles this nation was founded on. What stops the government from labeling any U.S. Citizen a terrorist and locking them up in Guatanamo without a trial, and if you think they can't do it to us you need to look at Patriot Act and many other laws passed in the last 8 years a little bit closer.

There can be no justice if justice is applied selectively.

Give those men their day in a fair court and those the government can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt are terrorists deal with them in accordance to the law and the severity of their crimes... those the government cannot prove... release them.

Then shut that damned prison down and dismantle it... then do the same with all of our secret ones around the world.

We as a nation supposed to be open... at least that is our rhetoric.

Most of the rest of the nations deal with terrorism as a criminal matter not a military one.

[edit on 10-11-2008 by grover]

I am all for this. That prison is completely disgusting and brings down the name of America. It should be close immediately. There are fathers, uncles, brothers sitting in Guantanamo for being a soldier of their respective country. Some are indeed guilty of being terrorist but others are sitting there for simply being soldiers and doing their duty. What if Iraq had "won" (GOD FORBID) and decided to try all American soldiers captured as terrorist?

I don't care what someone has done, the ONLY way to bring justice is through a trail in a court of law.

It's justice we want here, so trials are exactly what should be done.

People can label them terrorists all they want, without a trial all they are are people the government THINKS are terrorists, and are being stored out of sight.

Last I heard is that enemy combatants don't get trials.
That could be wrong. But I think that's the law.
The GITMO terrorists are enemy combatants.

As for closing GITMO - I suggest that we ship all the terrorists to go live with those who think closing GITMO is a good idea. We have to put them someplace and I don't want them in my backyard.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Actually, the Guantanamo detainees are suspected enemy combatants... not enemy combatants.

And since when did we decide to re-write the definitions? Before 9/11, terrorists were terrorists, plain and simple. They were still put on trial (if they didn't kill themselves first).

Now that oh-so-omnipotent Bush decides they're enemy combatants, the definitions are re-written? Since when was Bush even capable of reading a dictionary, let alone editing it?


But, returning to the original issue at hand... they aren't enemy combatants... they are people that have been picked up, who they think MIGHT have ties to terrorist organizations.

I'm sorry, but that just screams that we need a trial to decide if they are or not... simply rounding up people passing through airports and highways in foreign countries and placing them in Guantanamo bay claiming they MIGHT be affiliated with a terrorist organization is NOT a system of justice.


Granted there are a few in there who we know to be terrorists... but it's not them we're doing this for.
They'll be labeled guilty in the trial anyhow, and will continue to serve their sentence, so it's a moot point with the known terrorists.

[edit on 10-11-2008 by johnsky]

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Last I heard is that enemy combatants don't get trials.
That could be wrong. But I think that's the law.

They are not enemy combatants. They are terror suspects.

Well does that means that the anti America patriot act will be banned?

Anyway at least this tells that we are no going to invade anymore countries in the middle east I hope.

But then again America have plenty of holding camps around the world so they will just move them somewhere else.

Sad that these guys will probably get a better defense team than many Americans who are currently in prison. I say release them all to their home country to do with them as they see fit. And if we ever see them on the battlefield again, shoot them on the spot.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Last I heard is that enemy combatants don't get trials.
That could be wrong. But I think that's the law.
The GITMO terrorists are enemy combatants.

Originally posted by Simulacra
They are not enemy combatants. They are terror suspects.

Actually they are neither enemy combatants nor terror suspects. They are simply held as spies, under the international laws reserved for "unlawful combatants". You can look up the ruling towards the bottom of the page here:

Unlawful Combatants

President Bush has simply taken up the practice of referring to them as "enemy combatants" so people wouldn't start asking too many questions about his constitutional... liberties.

As you may or may not know, spies have very few international rights and are more often than not simply executed when found out. Most of the people being detained in Gitmo are probably innocent, but even the guilty ones deserve a fair trial. Honestly the whole situation is disgusting and the fact that Obama is already talking about ending it makes me glad we voted him in.

reply to post by jam321


So you are not a believer in people having fair trials or the right to face their accuser? It's a case of 'us' vs. 'them' in your head, where 'us' are real people and 'them' are some kind of subhuman who doesn't deserve justice?

Nice.

Why are we putting people on trial when they are suppose to be POWs during times of war. Is Obama making the freedom fighters look bad?

Originally posted by drwizardphd
Unlawful Combatants

That's good info - but it's coming from Wikipedia so it's suspect.
I'll take what you posted and go hunting. Thanks for giving direction ...