Bye bmaz

evidence [that] is in a foreign language (1), or classified (2), or hearsay (3) — in many cases all of these things” with a jaundiced eye.

I don’t have time to go dig up links (I need to start keeping some of this stuff in a way I can find it I guess), but

1. Foreign language. Let’s see, one of the few things they did let “out of the bag” from the Sibel Edmonds inital complaints was that we were sending “translators” to GITMO who not only flunked testing in the language they were supposed to be translating, but who ALSO flunked testing in English. We have trials here in the US where DOJ submitted “translations” of the “classified” (see 2) wiretap info, with highly prejudicial statements made by the defendants, only to find out when a court FINALLY required that defense counsel and REAL translators get a look, that the prejudicial statements were just made up and not in the conversation at all. One of the saddest GITMO stories on translations has to do with the excitement over the discovery that one of the young, child (under 16) detainees was a lynchpin in the underground financing of al-Qaeda. In responses to questions about whether or not al-Qaeda members sent him to get money, he responded yes, and when asked about where he went to get the money, he revealed a dizzying list of marketplaces. As they were putting the finishing touches on the theories of al-Qaeda’s market financing, it probably was a tough pill to swallow to discover that the word for money/cash in the translator’s dialect, was the same as the word for tomatoes in the kid’s dialect. Somehow having “al-Qaeda” send a kid all around to get them tomatoes just doesn’t have the same “war crimes” ring to it.

2. Classified. See the Kurnaz case. Then shake your head in disbelief. Then realize that WITH this case in the record, Carl Levin co-sponsored the DTA to take away habeas for future detainees at GITMO, and Carl Leven and Harry Reid did nothing other than covertly grease the skids for the MCA, to take away ALL habeas for anyone, anywhere in the world, detained by the US at any time for any reason. When W wants something from Congress, it’s like Willy Wonka giving an order to the oompa loompas. In any event, Kurnaz was basically sold off to us and a file of a couple hundred pages from 3 or four domestic and foreign intelligence agencies was put together. All exculpatory. There was one memo from a Haynesboy that said Kurnaz must be a terrorist bc he prayed during the playing of our anthem – or some kind of nonsense like that. All the exculpatory evidence was classified, held back from defense counself for a long time, then when they saw it they couldn’t discuss it with their client bc it was classified, they weren’t supposed to be able to use it in court filings, etc. – then there was a “mistake” and it was briefly declassified, a horrified judge ordered his release, then it was all reclassified and Kurnaz lawyers threatened with not being able to talk about the fact that he had a file full of only exculpatory evidence, bec it was “classified”

3. Hearsay. Ah yes, and not only hearsay, but also, as he omits, often hearsay from the same warlord/criminal who is selling the person to the US for money (aka human trafficking). So, for example, the man who hands off a London chef in Pakistan, says of the chef that the chef is a general in al-Qaeda and ran a training camp there from X to Y. On this, a bipolar man is paid for, kidnapped to GITMO, stuck in solitary for three years, etc. Once lawyers are finally allowed to see the foreign language translated, classified, hearsay, they look for something known as evidence and lo and behold, the London chef was working in Mayfair, collecting checks and serving souffles, throughout the time he was supposedly the “general” of an al-Qaeda training camp. On this, he was disappaeared from his family and abused for years.

Golly – it’s hard to imagine an America where anyone is such a hardened “skeptic” that they would question a system that promotes such criminal behavior.

Goldsmith’s reaction was ,’This is what habeas corpus is for.’ Yet he still went to work for the DoJ, IMO because he believed that he could change things from the inside. He didn’t anticipate Addington.

I very much believe that he put that kind of thing in his book, but it isn’t borne out by his actions on any front. Look at the 06 op piece – he did a similar pre-Valentines day one this year for Salon. He over and over says no habeas, treat them like battlefield combatant detainees, hold them forever in depraved conditions, disappeared from the world without application of the Geneva Conventions, torture conventions, and now under a UCMJ that specifically allows for ongoing and “authorized” abuse and coercion, and just, in the future, maybe have slightly less laughable CSRTs.

The down side of which he doesn’t dare mention – which is that if anyone, even one person, kidnapped out of country and subjected to the years of abuse and coercion and terror of GITMO, was ever held to have NOT been an enemy combatant at a CSRT – not an enemy combatant at the time they were taken – then what?

It’s pretty clear what – the shipment to GITMO, even without all the other disgusting overlays, is a clear Article 49 violation – a clear grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, and therefore an absolute clear and prima facie war crime. He’s trying to be like Rove, trying to make his weakspot into his strong point – trying to sell myopia as a special kind of vision.

23 – Good piec by Turley.

Springtime For Hitler And Mukasey!

This plan is aka, in more toney, ivy league circles, as A Better Way on Detainees is really what Haynes was trying to get to, with just a little intermediary showy step, like in the Andy Rooney movies, where The Torture Kids get to go put on a show, dress up and set the stage, in order to spread goodness and light.

I think it’s premature to mock the proceedings before you’ve seen the Springtime for Hitler finale, with the chorus line jigging by, arms linked, in front of a row of orange jumpsuited detainee, forced in a stress kneeling position. The high kicks are really just something.

It’s hard to imagine why, back in 06, Goldsmith would have been so worried that anyone would view trials based on “evidence [that] is in a foreign language (1), or classified (2), or hearsay (3) — in many cases all of these things” with a jaundiced eye.

I think he was too hasty to say that: “skeptics will still regard them as kangaroo courts” After all, there is a world of difference between the rigged trials based on torture that Haynes had in mind and kangaroo courts. For one thing, the costumes.

As to Mukasey in GITMO, he’s there to coordinate handing out condoms and penicillin to the working members of the [court]house crew. After all, when they hood and noose America before the climactic final thrusts of their arguments, he doesn’t want to have anyone claim they dirtied up the proceedings with the diseased byproducts of wanton hedonism run amok.

They already have Dolly Parton booked to play his role in the movie; Best Little Courthouse In GITMO.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped…..-defe.html

Did you read Jonathan Turley’s opinion piece in Wednesday’s USA Today(McPaper)? I was happy to see it in such a “pop” publication. Perhaps the larger McPublic will start to get a clue on torture…your know, on our DoJ approved version of waterboarding – “McTorture” , the kind that our legal system denies the president the power to order such criminal acts…?

One can hope some readers were finally “clued in”.

It’s worth the read…