Officer: military ‘pressured’ to name ‘enemy combatants.’
Officer: military ‘pressured’ to name ‘enemy combatants.’
“An Army officer with a key role in the U.S. military hearings at Guantanamo Bay says they relied on vague and incomplete intelligence and were pressured to declare detainees “enemy combatants,” often without any specific evidence:
His affidavit, released Friday, is the first criticism by a member of the military panels that determine whether detainees will continue to be held.
Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, a 26-year veteran of military intelligence who is an Army reserve officer and a California lawyer, said military prosecutors were provided with only “generic” material that didn’t hold up to the most basic legal challenges.
Despite repeated requests, intelligence agencies arbitrarily refused to provide specific information that could have helped either side in the tribunals, according to Abraham, who said he served as a main liaison between the Combat Status Review Tribunals and those intelligence agencies.
“What were purported to be specific statements of fact lacked even the most fundamental earmarks of objectively credible evidence,” Abraham said in the affidavit, filed in a Washington appeals court on behalf of a Kuwaiti detainee, Fawzi al-Odah, who is challenging his classification as an “enemy combatant.”
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
62 Responses to “Officer: military ‘pressured’ to name ‘enemy combatants.’”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
and we are so surprised because...? just more affirmation, as if we needed any, that the bush administration has chosen to operate completely outside the norms of the law, the constitution, and any respect for human rights... this lawless presidential administration needs to be brought down before they can destroy what's left of what matters in this country...
And, yes, I DO take it personally
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 pmthis is yet another reason why the power to name enemy combatants should not even exist.
all power given to politicians will eventually be abused. period.
There's no reason to trust American politicians with such power - and there's no reason to think that they won't start using it on Americans someday too...
"Your Innocence is No Protection"
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/your_innocence_is_no_protection
Bush just wanted some people to torture for fun. Didn't much matter who, as long as they were brown-skinned furuners.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 pmThe link in this thread leads to nowhere. If both the defense and the prosecution are denied access to evidence, how can a trial be conducted? This is the ultimate in kangaroo courts.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:02 pm"The link in this thread leads to nowhere. If both the defense and the prosecution are denied access to evidence, how can a trial be conducted? This is the ultimate in kangaroo courts.
Comment by WaltTheMan — June 22, 2007 @ 5:02 pm"
Works for me...... Just takes a little time.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:04 pmOK, the link is fixed.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:04 pmBets are ON for how SOON the trolls show up and call Col. Abraham a
"LIBERAL who HATES amerikkkka!"
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:09 pmwhats the forth k for?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:09 pmWe all know that Gitmo was BS so Bush could scare Americans into voting for him and help the continuation of the war.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:12 pmIt was and still is all lies big time.
If both the defense and the prosecution are denied access to evidence, how can a trial be conducted?
Comment by WaltTheMan — June 22, 2007 @ 5:02 pm
That is exactly the point. Since they never intended for any of these people to ever see the inside of a courtroom, presenting evidence to the opposing attorneys would be a waste of time.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:13 pmLibs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He's not perfect, but he is our President.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:13 pmLibs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He’s not perfect, but he is our President.
Funny joke...
He is not MY president or of any REAL American...
May this TRAITOR coxucker PUNK Bush
BURN IN HELL for ETERNITY....
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:16 pmLibs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He’s not perfect, but he is our President.
Comment by Daryll
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:17 pmYes, Daryll- we must obey. He is our president. I will walk in his glow. I will proclaim his eminence to the heavens and walk among the lions, for his truth is beyond repute.
We just love leftcoast's sarcasm. Thanks!!
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:18 pm#
Libs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He’s not perfect, but he is our President.
Comment by Daryll — June 22, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
#
Would you say the same if Hillary were president?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:18 pmLibs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He’s not perfect, but he is our President.
Comment by Daryll — June 22, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
I have a great deal of respect for the Office of the President, but Bush does not. And I won't respect any president who doesn't respect the office he holds. Why should we?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:20 pmWTF is an enemy combatant? You or me in the face of tyranny? If we allow human and constitutional rights to be eroded we face the GITMO for ourselves one day.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:21 pmThis guy is just the TIP of the iceberg. Just wait. More will be coming forward.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:21 pm#17- Absolutely perfect reasoning. We need to rise against the Furor. Oh, I won't go that far. Just impeach the SOB.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:22 pm"Libs, he is the President, the Potus."
Dumb a$$. POTUS is an acronym, not a word, just like SCOTUS. The most important part of the acronym is US. Without the US, you care just talking about any president.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:24 pmJust out of curiosity, are you enjoying yourself (singular) leftcoast/adam? he-he.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:24 pmWhere are the trolls screaming that, ipso facto, anyone detained in Gitmo is an enemy combatant bent on raping our children, stuffing our women into burkhas and forcing us to pray five times a day?
Scuttling back under the appliances for the moment?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:25 pmGood post, #13, Left Coast....LMAO.
Poor Daryll, total obedience to heir dictator..He is your leader Daryll, not mine...Will you follow your leader to prison or your hell maybe.?..Well you get Blessings from me today, you realy need them.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:25 pmLibs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He’s not perfect, but he is our President.
Comment by Daryll — June 22, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
Perhaps if he were the President of Iran that would be correct.
But since he's not, you're wrong. He is a member of 1 of 3 equal branches of government. Nothing more.
We don't allow kings here. You should move somewhere that does.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:25 pmI have a great deal of respect for the Office of the President, but Bush does not. And I won’t respect any president who doesn’t respect the office he holds. Why should we?
Comment by Wayne A. Schneider
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:26 pmExactly. There is no respect for the office among Bush and Cheney. Cheney directs, Bush listens. We have witnessed the nearly complete takeover of our country.
... a yes... the need to show "progress" in an illicit war against ideals... and the "powers that be" are strong enough to force normally decent people to do indecent and illegal things...
Rumsfeld should be put on trial and then hung for his war crimes.
Cheney should be put on trial and then hung for his war crimes.
The Toy Emperor should be put on trial and then hung for his war crimes.
But they'll get away with murder. All of them. Literally.
These are Dark Times in Amerika!
ITMFA's now!!!
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:27 pmOf course, even in Iran the executive is offset by a seperate governing body.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:27 pmPOTUS? SCOTUS? Or SCROTUM?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 pmBoy, is his army career over, along with any prospects of working in the illustrious military industrial complex. Good luck.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:29 pm#21 Just out of curiosity, are you enjoying yourself (singular) leftcoast/adam? he-he.
Comment by Wayne A. Schneider
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:29 pmWayne- its all been a joke to respond to the troll tactic. But, I have grown tired of it tonight. Fun while it lasted. Thanks for indulging.
Why does this troop hate himself???
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:31 pmLeftcoast, I found it amusing. :)
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:31 pmPOTUS? SCOTUS? Or SCROTUM?
Comment by JesusChrist_GodOfWar
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:33 pmPlease, I enjoyed to claim a different name tonight. But do not claim the name of someone that you could never hold a candle to.
#24, actually, the president of Iran is basically the secretary of the interior. He has no power. The head of state is the supreme jurisprudent.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:33 pmWayne, thanks! Love your stuff.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:34 pmDaryll, this is George, your Lord and POTUS. I AM perfect. Suck my cawk now.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:34 pmLibs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He’s not perfect, but he is our President.
Comment by Daryll — June 22, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
"Some people say" that the sun rises and sets out of his asshole. Also, when his holy sphincter is not attending to these celestial events, the president will deign to shit ice cream at photo ops with needy children on the White House lawn.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:37 pmDaryll. Don't listen to BurningBush. I'm the real deal and my power compels you to vote democrat in 2008.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:39 pmMexico is an enemy combatant.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:42 pmDamn. 3200 mg of codeine makes you drowsy...
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:45 pmHave I mentioned this is all Bill Clinton's fault?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:45 pmold jack- i thougt it was canada; the ultimate combatant.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:46 pmsorry. 320 mg
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:47 pmDamn. 3200 mg of codeine makes you drowsy…
Comment by MAF54
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:49 pmIs this true? I really do mean to say that I hope you're ok. Even if we attack you, no one issues you ill. But man are you a troll and a half. Take care.
MAF54- Oh just 320mg. OK, NOT that ill. You must make sense from now on.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:51 pmissues you ill? Man my codeine is really working.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:54 pmI still have faith that if faced with enough mounting evidence against Bush, Cheney and Gonzales, Nancy Pelosi will do the right thing for the good of this country and impeach. Besides, it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind, right?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:59 pmNotice how the TROLLS have INCREASED their postings to "muddy" the discussion by the ADULTS.
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:00 pmThe RNC is getting SCARED that IMPEACHMENT and JAIL are coming for the Bush WAR CRIMINALS and is paying the trolls OVERTIME.
#47 The RNC is getting SCARED that IMPEACHMENT and JAIL are coming for the Bush WAR CRIMINALS and is paying the trolls OVERTIME.
Comment by Mr. Bush Goes To Hell
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:15 pmThere is only one Troll. Don't worry. His name is Karl Rove. Have checked the IP address thru Homeland Security contact.
#48 OK. Samantha didn't write that. It was me. A Dem troll that will from now on be known as Zorro.
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 pmEl presidente es un idiota.
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:20 pmI wonder if Daryll got a rise out of us getting a rise out of him.
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:44 pmSing....sing your song! The songbirds are singing like crazy and this IS just the tip of a huge, carcinogenic iceberg! Let the ice floe!
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:50 pm#52 Sing….sing your song! The songbirds are singing like crazy and this IS just the tip of a huge, carcinogenic iceberg! Let the ice floe!
Comment by veritas
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:58 pmEveryday, one more revelation. But will congress act? So far, it would seem all of our efforts are in vain. Crimes, hint of crimes. But only hearings and claims that there will be hearings. Bush would have been impeached if he'd been a dem. along time ago. But, because we are the party of due process we just keep going with the flow. Perhaps we should take a lesson from Repukes and jail Bush at GITMO with no habeas corpus.
Perhaps we should take a lesson from Repukes and jail Bush at GITMO with no habeas corpus.
And then TORTURE the TRAITOR until he expires.
THEN give him a TRIAL poshumously, to know he got fair treatment...
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:02 pmAnd now Bush is stuck with these people. He can't let them go and he can't bring them to trial. Either would end up with the world knowing how we treat these people. I am very sure that we have been torturing them for years. But, I believe that the world should know what the Bush Crime Family and their enabling lemming Republics have been up to. This should go into the history books so that generations to come will know what they tried to do to this country.
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:05 pm"Notice how the TROLLS have INCREASED their postings to “muddy†the discussion by the ADULTS."
Yes, and I think I read somewhere that they have increased their fee per post from 5 cents to a dime. So those trolls are working double time to fill their pockets so they can go order a pizza.
But, seriously, you are right. The Right is running scared, and I'm loving every minute of it. I'm just afraid that if we don't get them out of there soon, they may do permanent damage to this country.
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:07 pm"Libs, he is the President, the Potus. He can do as he pleases.Be obedient, respec the President. He’s not perfect, but he is our President. Comment by Daryll
He may be your President, but he isn't mine. I have never called him by his official name. He is Mr. Bush to me. He was never elected President, he simply stole two elections.
He has made this country the laughingstock of the world. How can you even talk about respecting this man. You have very low standards.
Now, if your post was snark, I apologize for my rant. But, it's getting hard to separate the snark from the real trolls these days.
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:19 pmSimply a PATRIOT!
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:57 pmBasically, if they have no charge there is no way to back up that nonexistent charge. So in order for the administration to rationalize the outcome of the already known verdict the prosecution has to know they have the upper hand in the procedings?
June 22nd, 2007 at 8:07 pm"often without any specific evidence"
Who needs junk scientific procedural details like "specific evidence" when we have the unerring and straight-from-JEHOVAH things like "gut instinct"?
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:43 amGitmo is fast becoming a legal albatross around the GOP's neck. Even conservative federal judeges are handing the WH their hats on this one...
And that's the good news....Internationally we are becoming a pariah.
___What's the difference between keeping them locked up with no chance of a fair trial in Cuba, or keeping them locked up with no chance of a fair trail in Afghanistan?
____They will announce the closing of Guantanamo the same day as they announce the pardon of Libby. Question is, What will we do with Cheney in 2009 if Gitmo is closed? Well Abu Ghraib will still be open and there is always Romania, Uzbekistan and other interesting places. Or I suppose he could be waterboarded in the Patomac or the Reflecting Pool
.___Just another transparent and pathetic move from this abomination of an adminstration. No surprises.___
really don't see the gulag at Guantanamo closing during the tenure of this administration.
Bush fails to realize what Gitmo has come to represent. It has become synonymous with cruelty and tyranny. Charges of human rights violations, no habeas corpus and torture abound.
It is the height of hypocrisy to say we as a democratic nation with laws enacted to protect individual rights, deny these same rights to the detainees there.
"And justice for all" has simply become redundant._Next stop deepest darkest Afghanistan.___
Folks I hate to break this to you but the USA and Israel are the 2 biggest purveyors of state sponsored terrorism on earth.
Think B-52's, cruise missiles, White phosphorous, cluster bombs, DU shells, all against countries that never , ever were a threat. like Iraq and Vietnam.
Karma won't be kind
June 23rd, 2007 at 9:06 pm