An Associated Press story reported Friday “The Supreme Court specifically struck down a provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that denies Guantanamo detainees the right to file petitions of habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is a centuries-old legal principle, enshrined in the Constitution, that allows courts to determine whether a prisoner is being held illegally.”
However Attorney General Michael Mukasey wasted no time in defying the Supreme Court’s ruling with a transparent claim of a loophole. He stated he will press forward with what amounts to a secret trial, something like a Star Court proceeding of old, of accused “Day911 mastermind” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was detained at Guantanamo, after being waterboarded and otherwise tortured until he allegedly confessed.
It has been widely reported that Mohammed confessed to this and about every other crime of terrorism, except perhaps planning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and including crimes he could not have committed. It seems that is how torture works. He has rejected appointed counsel and is quoted as saying he is ready for a death sentence and a “martyr‘s death.”
We must not forget that Attorney General Mukasey is a Bush appointee to replace Alberto Gonzales, who he was forced to ditch as Attorney General when it became public that Gonzales personally approved almost unlimited torture of prisoners, who at the time included the unfortunate Mr. Mohammed.
Let us test Mukasey’s logic in claiming the Supreme Court ruling did not touch Mohammed;s upcoming trial. Mukasey: “I think it bears emphasis that the court’s decision does not concern military commission trials, which will continue to proceed. Instead it addresses the procedures that the Congress and the president put in place to permit enemy combatants to challenge their detention.”
But defendants Mohammed never had a chance to argue that he was illegally detained (and tortured) in the first place. The Justice Department admits Mr. Mohammed was tortured and “waterboarded” while in detention in a different country before being sent to Cuba. Now Mukasey would deny him the very right the Court has just ruled that he had all along under our Constitution. It has also been recently reported that Mr. Mohammed’s interrogators have been ordered to destroy their notes. What does this add?
By any logic there must be something wrong with a trial held in “communist Cuba” for crimes against American citizens on our own soil. What better way to bury the truth!
The Attorney General’s logic is that the government has successfully hurried the defendant into a “trial mode” before the order of the Supreme Court ruled, but is the defendant not still being detained, he is not out on bail. Mukasey’s lynch mob already had the noose in place when the victim was reprieved, so they plan to hang him anyway and ignore the Supreme Court.
Why not justice?
The Guantanamo trials are not justice for Americans who died on Day911. It will deny Americans knowledge of important facts, and we will never know for sure what Mr. Mohammed did or did not do. He should have a public trial in New York City with a civilian jury, after all, is he not accused of killing American civilians? It is insane to trust a military jury where every one is beholden to the prosecution for their livelihood and continued careers. There is no justice for the firemen who died when the World Trade Center collapsed unless the entire truth comes out. Maybe Mr. Mohammed can shed light on why buildings collapsed so rapidly and strangely.
We Hold These Truths wants justice for both the victims and the guilty. We need honest courts, no military tribunals. That is why the Supreme Court did well in upholding the time honored right of habeas corpus for anyone accused of anything, no exceptions.
We called for justice in our paper published seven years ago, just two days after Day911, which we stand on today. Within 30 minutes we had a call from the FBI asking us if we knew any terroristss. Truth is on the gallows; those who seek the truth are under surveillance.
Sept. 11, 2001: Charles Carlson: There is one simple, conclusive way to end acts of war against our civilian population (wrongly called “terrorism”). We must end our own acts of war against Arab populations, and, for that matter, against all other people who are not our immediate concern. We cannot do this without stopping all aid of any kind to Israel, Egypt and any other countries. And if financial aid is being given to the Palestine Liberation Army (PLO) or any other Arab group, this too, must be stopped.
If Americans were involved in the bombings on Day911, there are legal means to deal with them, and this should be done. But continuing to kill and starve the mothers and children of Arabs in other countries, as our government has done in the past, will simply convince the world that they are correct about the great bully, and insure that Americans will again have to pay for the evil acts of our government.
We suggest you reread the entire paper:
Day 911 – Americans Pay the Price
Charles E. Carlson and Advisors Sep 11, 2001
https://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=188
