Bush is gearing up the propaganda ministry again to make sure we have a death sentence prior to the Fall elections. It appears to me that Bush thinks killing arabs and US elections go together like peas and carrots.

Saddam was sentenced to death on 11/5/06, election day was 11/7/06 and he was killed on 12/30/06. While the Gitmo 6 and Saddam are/were dispicable folks who most probably deserve the harshest of penalties, the crude arrogant manner in which this is being/was done has alienated our allies, undermined the US' legitmacy in front of the world and will no doubt create more extremists.

Look for a death penalty before the election and an execution on during the "Holy Days"

The perception of coercion through water boarding will forever taint the evidence despite attempts to cleanse it. Too many in the military are myopic and refuse to see the larger picture. To those who support American hegemony this process makes perfect sense. Those who argue against American isolation are, in fact, guaranteeing it.

Provoking Iran failed to create a national emergency. Maybe executing some Al-Qaeda will have the desired effect.

We are as bad as they are... no make that we are worse. A few moslems destroyed a few of our buildings. 100,000s plus of Americans destroyed an entire country.

So the new guys studied the prisoners, and knew how to ask questions to get the answers they wanted. Why didn't they do this to begin with? What was so important about a crime that had already happened that we had to torture to get the information? Did we not have professionals available at that time?

there is a video "A FORCE MORE POWERFUL" easily found at libraries and online. it tell how nonviolent civil disobedience has changed the modern world. it gives detailed instructions on how to get your country back. it shows real examples of people taking back their country. if you study and practice with others, you could start taking back the us by April or May.
complaining on commondreams is worse than nothing because it gives you the false impression you are changing things. GET THAT VID.
YOUR VOTE HAS NOT COUNTED IN 8+ YEARS WHY DO YOU THINK IT WILL COUNT THIS YEAR! obama hillery mccain are not going to change the system but you can. get that vid.
get that vid.

If they had any case at all there wouldn't need to be a military tribunal.
These men were tortured at Auschwitz for 4 years and forced to confess. (Oops I mean Guantanamo - hard to tell them apart sometimes)
Since 2000 bush has built a giant card castle of lies and it's about crash down all around him. The whole world knows this 'trial' is BS. He'll never be able to sell it as "fair".

American justice, like corporate business ethics, is a sick and sad oxymoron. So the 'clean team' now demands 'voluntary' re-confessions with the threat of repeated less pleasant consequences always looming in the background. What a farce!

The US trying to regain any semblance of decency at this point is like an exhibitionist, having exposed himself to the entire schoolyard, putting on a suit and tie for his court appearance.

The trials are a political tool to scare the wandering dogies back into the capitalist corral.

Its called Good Cop, Bad Cop.

So they'll only use the statements made to the good cop. And they'll ignore the fact that before the good cop entered the room that the bad cop beat and tortured the person. And that the implied threat hanging over the conversation with the good cop was that if the detainee didn't tell the good cop what the good cop wanted to hear, that then they'd send the detainee back to another session with the bad cop.

This is the most anti-American stuff I've ever heard.

Interesting to see how the Gitmo trials have already led to considerable squabbling in the Court. Some attorneys appointed to represent the defendants even pondered whether following the Court's instructions would constitute disobeying an order by a superior officer! Apparently, military attorneys in the crowd volunteered their services.
See the article here.

Now papercut posting above is absolutely right: we don't have an antiwar movement without action. Knowledge may be a valuable step to taking more effective action, but without taking action, nothing changes.

The next demonstration in DC is just before a Congressional break. One group (http://www.resistinmarch.org/) is holding actions in DC the week of March 10th.

I'd been to the protest on September 15th, and posted an original vid on my blog (right-side link). Participation was very good, and I think the protest made an impression. The signs were great and a sense of unity prevailed.

Results are another matter; some degree of patience is required, as is action beyond just typing.

The Bush Administration tried to block an investigation into the events of 9/11. "Any investigation will interfere with the War on Terror." Dick Cheney.

Senators Lehey and Daschel were pushing for investigation and blocking the Government Reorganization act (later entitled "Patriot Act"). Anthrax was sent to their offices. Five people, mostly postal workers, died. The anthrax was identified as the Ames Strain, which could only have come from a U.S. Army bioweapons lab. The investigation was dropped at that point. The corporate media buried the story.

9/11 is an unsolved crime. Torture was used to extract confessions from some unlikely Middle Eastern men. The tapes of the confessions have been destroyed. (Gee, if they actually did it, maybe those confessions were valuable evidence?) At least uncoerced confessions would have been of value. There must not be clear evidence against these men, because if there was they would just be tried in court for murder.

More than a million people have died as a result of war crimes, including the most grievous of all, war of agression, in Iraq and Afghanistan - that "War on Terror" investigation of 9/11 would have "interfered with," that the Bush Administration has pursued in a quest for imperialist domination of the Middle East launched after the events of 9/11.

Now we are going to be treated to another replay Nazi spectacle, the show trial where defendants are tried in secret courts with secret evidence and then executed to make sure they keep their silence. That is what happened to the mentally retarded man the Nazis called Communist and accused of setting fire to the Reichstag, and it looks like the same thing is about to happen here.

My guess is that the Bush administration is trying to instigate violence sufficient to justify the declaration of martial law and the shutdown of elections in November. It was probably the long-term plan. What other reason would there be to delay "trials" this long? Bush has directives already written, in defiance of existing law. If the Democrats don't start the impeachment process quite soon, it may be too late.

So the Administration idiots thiunk they are going to schmooze their way through this one? What has it taken? Six years to try to figure out how to get from between a rock and a hard place? First they torture the suspects, then hold them virtually incommunicado for 5-6 years, deny them legal assistance (because they are "enemy combattants" a rigged legalese term designed to prevent them the opportunity to have a normal legal defense), and now they will face a "military tribunal" in hopes of avoiding a normal criminal trial (because they are not U.S. nationals). Oh my, yes, this will satisfy their idea of methods to get around normally accepted jurisprudence, and it will probably suffice for the neo-cons and rabid right, but for the rest of us, as well as the rest of the world it's just another Cheney/Bush charade!

Put a black hood on the Statue of Liberty. If Americans could do that, then maybe the world would start the process of forgiving us.

Disband the CIA at the earliest, they have to be the most useless, incompetent agency ever allowed. The string of failures of that crowd is so long and the rivers of blood that they have spilled so huge that their crimes will never be washed away.

Nobody even remembers the name of the Stalinist equivalent, but the CIA will be remembered in infamy for ever.

25 years-ago, a simple Brief (Amicus or otherwise) filed in ANY Federal Court in America, would have secured the immediate release of EVERY prisoner held in off-shore US Custody...PERIOD.
No Argument or 'defense' from these Prosecutors would have been TOLERATED, much less heard-or-considered. All 'Fruit from a Poisoned-Tree' ('tainted', indeed).
How an asshole can 'swear to protect and defend the Constitution' [their primary job-function and Purpose], and then appear in ANY Court and Defend Torture, admit to it, virtually BRAG about it in Public, repeatedly -- and then NOT be promptly thrown in jail his-or-herself -- leaves me SPEECHLESS!
This ain't the country I grew up in...period.
They may as well burn every damn Law-Book, FedSupI&II, all Titles/Codes, all Precedent, all Rulings, all Writ, and "that g-d-damn piece of paper" Bush once characterized the Constitution as being. Just like Hitler did...[the burning, I mean -- he at-least respected his-Constitution, while in-Public].
May as well burn the original Declaration of Independence, while you're at-it...since obviously, this is also no longer "the home of the brave" (or THESE assholes would all be in Gitmo, already, and wearing the label of 'Tyrant').
We, and our Military, EXECUTED Japanese-Officers who (while under Orders in a time of "extreme-threat of destruction of their country and Japanese-civilians") DARED to waterboard, ONCE, some American-prisoners (some of whom were captured after deliberately killing Japanese-civilians by the Thousands AND who also DID absolutely-know when&where the 'next time would be' -- in a rare but LITERAL "ticking-bomb Scenario"). Executed them (not 'one' of them, but several Officers -- Google it, and read the Court Ruling).
Their Defense was (of course) "Orders; and a proved-and-dire threat to their Homeland and innocent-Civilians".
We LAUGHED-off that exact Defense -- literally. And, promptly HUNG THEM.
In Public. And Proudly...
But, I guess, THAT was a 'different America'...huh? Apparently, the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces were NOT as big of a threat to us then as a few 'fanatic' ex-employees of the CIA, who we once dedicated a space-shuttle to when they did the SAME sort of thing to our former WW-II-Ally, the USSR...and Reagan compared them publicly to our Founding Fathers -- who wrote that aforementioned Constitution that Bush called "a g-d-damned piece of paper", and our Attorney General called the Geneva "quaint" (which was the document we executed those Officers 'on authority of').
Right?
[Or, am I the only one in this country with his head screwed-on backwards?]

You know, I've come to the conclusion that the world would be a much better place if there was no United States stomping all over it. Evil, disgusting excuses for humanity.

The USA has become the "Evil Empire", period.

the world would be a better place without the USA

if Obama looks to be the next pres-

expect before NOV.... executions of the GITMO 6,fake hyjack/blown up passenger planes, institution of martial law, indefinatly postponed elections, and lots of "Merry Christmas and good will to mankind" signs alongside the American Flag.

Our entire government, Congress and Administration are stupid, incompetent, traitorous or outright criminals, and there is nothing we can truly do about it now. Perhaps Bush has a plot ready to invade Iran and cancel the elections for 2009 as being "too unsafe" for us to attend the polls. Just today he wheeled out the same old threat-promise that he did before the Iraq invasion, that is, that we are about to be attacked, a prelude to a loss of more of our liberties. Wait and see. Hope I am wrong.

Never underestimate the courage of a madman or the cowardice of our Congress. Both are beyond rational belief.

If we are ever again permitted real elections, we should do everything in our power to rid ourselves of all incumbents!

This is human sacrifice plain and simple. Nobody in the Bush administration cares one whit if these are really the actual people to blame for the 9-11 attacks. If you wanted to find those people you should look first in Dick Cheney's office and then maybe in the Saudi Royal family.

They want to kill a scapegoat so that they look like they are doing something. That's it.

Human sacrifice to the gods of war and avarice.

JBPeebles
I mean no disrespect, but from December 13 noon thru December 16 evening the 'Winter Soldier' II Testimony will be taking place, due to the dire circumstances IVAW will be giving testimony re; atrocities committed by, ordered to, witnessed by these young women and men serving or are Vets of aforementioned. I am sure the people that have never served do not understand the trauma they are again experiencing, they are standing up taking their hits, they need everyone to know 'Truth' from Iraq, please if protesting, albeit it will be heard in Supreme Court in SS, MD. It will be on live stream even on active duty bases. Not all of these kids understood what they were deceived into doing, not all have laid hands and are not complicit, try to behave humanely and as these brave Iraq War Veterans for Peace are taking their lives in their own hands, no Blackwater to protect them from thegatheringofeagles, respect their trying to make America finally see. We have a few rogue grassroots whose political agendas far outweigh the nations need to heal, so peacefully protest, the 19th we Kick Ass!

These are the worst bunglers imaginable. They were warned that the torture would come back to haunt them when it came time to mete out justice. But these middle school bullies couldn't get a grip on their sadism or the baseless fantasies that fueled it. Instead they were gripped, and gripped their little hard ons in turn.

Now there's a kangaroo in their sham courthouse, and the whole world is watching. DOJ's sheepish boast about how they brought in adults who are "very adept at building cases and anticipating the challenges down the road" made me laugh after I stopped crying.

One wonders how they managed to stop panting long enough to realize that in this day and age a show trial without a show interrogation is a laughingstock. But the fake queries will do them no good, even if they get their fake judges to rule for them. The NYU and ACLU people are right: nothing will cleanse this sin in the eyes of a world that is fond of justice.

Nice job boys. Hope you got your jollies.

try as they might, the USA and Bush can never be "clean" again. The filth runs too deep

As a member of the US Army and a conservative, I love to read all of these comments and I would like to add my two cents worth.

I agree that it would be better if the United States could be squeaky clean in all of it's international dealings. But the truth is, it is impossible for the USA or any other government to achieve this goal for obvious reasons. The detainees at Gitmo are not protected under the US Constitution. No matter how much anyone here wants it to be so, they are not. The Constitution is very clear that it applies only to US Citizens. If it were not the case, everyone in the world would be covered by the Constitution, which they are not.

I also agree that it would be better for everyone involved if countires around the world could co-operate and co-habitate with no difficulties. But the truth is, Islam (or a militant branch of it) has declared war on the west and we have a right to defend ourselves. If we just stood back and said that we would forgive our enemies for 9/11 if they promised just not to do it again, we would no longer exist. Many people in this thread have stated that the world would be a better place if the United States were no longer around. I really have a hard time believing that these people are for real. If it were not for the United States the world would be under Sharia Law right now and women would have no rights. The world would most definitely be a worse off if it were not for the United States. I understand that people don't feel that United States is on the right course. But please stop trying to give away my/our soveringty and work to make the US Stronger.

Many will read my post and start to call me names and say that I am a right wingnutter. I can be called names and it will not bother me. I would hope that people will use their vim and vigor, not in attacks of me, but in a clear and well thought out defense of why they feel the way they do. I want to have a better United States just like most of you here.

My only complaint about liberals and progressives is that I believe that they are well intentioned but they think with their hearts and not their heads. Both sides look at issues like Health Care and come up with different ideas on how to solve it. Just because I have differing ideas, does not necessarily make them wrong but at the same time it does not necessarily make yours wrong either.

I know that the world would be a far worse off place today if it were not for the United States, but in the same breath, the United States is not perfect and many things could be fixed and they can and will only be fixed by working together. But working together does not mean that I have to continue to make concessions to your point of view.

My final word is: So many comments mock the US and make statements that are just no true orare only partially true. Why don't we try to make constructive comments that might be convincing instead of derisive non-sequitor remarks.