Good luck, Colonel Pohl
Colonel James Pohl, the chief judge at GITMO has ignored Barack Obama’s request for a 120-day hold on prosecutions of terrorism suspects. The Colonel said that the motion was “unreasonable and unjust.”
Sounds about right, since terrorists have gained access to our Constitutional protections, such as a right to a speedy trial. Is the Obama against speedy trials?
The White House press secretary told reporters that “We are consulting with the Pentagon and the Department of Justice to explore our options.” I hope that isn’t diplo-speak for “we have our ways of dealing with dissidents.”
Currently, Col. Pohl is supervising the trial of the former ops chief and mastermind of the USS Cole attack Abd al-Rahim Hussein Mohammed Abdu Al-Nashir. The attack left a 40-ft hole in the destroyer while it was refueling in a Yemeni port, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39. But all he has to do is say that he was tortured. Talk about lawfare.
In: National Security · Tagged with: Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay
Hamas Rearms, GITMO Recidivism
This is a transcript of the Unto the Breach program. Click here for the audio.
Despite the three-week Israeli operation into Gaza, the terrorist group Hamas may be even better off than they were before Operation Cast Lead.
Senior adviser to Hamas’ Prime Minister, Ahmed Yousef, told the Sydney Morning Herald that Hamas was rearming, and that the terrorist group had no intention of a peaceful resolution with Israel. That’s the same Ahmed Yousef that gave Hamas’ endorsement of Barack Obama back in April 2008.
Yousef called on Obama to open direct negotiations with Hamas, “I’m sure that with time, [the US] will contact Hamas one way or another, either secretly or openly they will sit with Hamas, because without Hamas nothing can be moved.”
Obama told the New York Times in a May 2008 interview that Hamas (and Hezbollah) have “legitimate claims.”
That’s creepy, and a sad departure from the Bush Administration, who refused to negotiate with terrorists. And when you consider that Obama still plans to open direct negotiations with Iran, who is on the doorstep of a nuclear arsenal, it is easy to see why Hamas believes that Obama will talk with them.
In: National Security · Tagged with: Ahmed Yousef, al Qaeda, Guantanamo Bay, Hamas
