December, 16 2008, 12:43pm EDT
ACLU Rejects Vice President Cheney's Praise Of Guantanamo
Despite
years of legal setbacks and international controversy, Vice President
Dick Cheney this week heaped praise upon the maligned Guantanamo prison
camp and military commission system, saying that "Guantanamo has been
very well run" and should remain open indefinitely.
The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:
NEW YORK
Despite
years of legal setbacks and international controversy, Vice President
Dick Cheney this week heaped praise upon the maligned Guantanamo prison
camp and military commission system, saying that "Guantanamo has been
very well run" and should remain open indefinitely.
The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:
"After the failure and repudiation
of President Bush's Guantanamo and torture policies in American courts
and in the world community, it is stunning that Vice President Cheney
still sings the praises of these failed policies. Cheney's
fear-mongering is now targeted at a new president who has vowed to make
change and give us back an America we can be proud of. Cheney's advice
to President-elect Obama must be taken with a mountain of salt, given
its source. The current administration's torture policies and
fundamentally flawed military commissions make a mockery of the
Constitution and violate America's commitment to human rights. Contrary
to the vice president's opinion, these detainees should be prosecuted
in U.S. military or civilian courts that are fully equipped to handle
complex national security cases. We are confident that President-elect
Obama has wiser counsel advising him than the outgoing vice president
when it comes to Guantanamo. It is time to restore our role as a nation
of due process, decency and the rule of law."
An ACLU video, along with a petition
calling on President-elect Obama to shut down Guantanamo and the
military commissions, is online at: closegitmo.com
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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