War on Terror News

[Geowhizzer]

I didn't see a thread on the War on Terror (this doesn't really fit in the Iraq thread).  If I missed one, I apologize in advance.

News:  Al-Qaida No. 3 says he planned 9/11

Pertinent Excerpts:

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed portrayed himself as al-Qaida's most ambitious operational planner in a confession to a U.S. military tribunal that said he planned and supported 31 terrorist attacks, topped by 9/11, that killed thousands of innocent victims since the early 1990s.

"I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," Mohammed said in a statement read Saturday during a Combatant Status Review Tribunal at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mohammed's confession was read by a member of the U.S. military who is serving as his personal representative.

The military began the hearings last Friday to determine whether the 14 should be declared "enemy combatants" who can be held indefinitely and prosecuted by military tribunals.

If the 14 are declared enemy combatants, as expected, the military would then draft and file charges against them. The detainees would be tried under the new military commissions law signed by Bush in October.

The military barred reporters or other independent observers from the sessions for the 14 operatives and is limiting the information it provides about them, arguing that it wants to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information.

Legal experts have criticized the U.S. decision, and The Associated Press filed a letter of protest, arguing that it would be "an unconstitutional mistake to close the proceedings in their entirety."

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, questioned the legality of the closed-door sessions and whether the confession was actually the result of torture.

"We won't know that unless there is an independent hearing," he said. "We need to know if this purported confession would be enough to convict him at a fair trial or would it have to be suppressed as the fruit of torture?"

The fact that these sessions are being done under such secrecy is chilling.  You would think that if the aim was justice, the whole thing should be made public.  The fact that not only are the "sessions" not public, but that the press is in fact barred from the proceeding makes this a farce at best, a tragedy at worst.

Whatever the reasons the Bush administration wants to present for their practices, they are indefensible.

[Seabiscuit36]

The Bush office reminds me of the Eagles FO

[Diomedes]

The war on terror reminds me of the war on drugs.  U.S. is losing, making the problem worse, and funnelling a lot of money into rich people's hands in the name of the war.  And oh yeah...civil liberties and rights are being eroded a la pre Nazi germany.

[mussa]

Not everything in this world need to be televised or shared. All the media wants to do is make something out of nothing. These scumbags are there for a reason. Don't tun this into some fargin conspiracy. these guys are scum of the earth. the info they release IMO is top secret and should be known to only those who will do something about it. not some fargin fat ass sitting at home watching television.


"oh but bush is scum of the earth too", well no shtein. end of topic.

[Butchers Bill]

  @ the pre Nazi germany garbage.  We've been hearing that for 7 years now...time to give it a rest.

As far as this douche is concerned, the confession was probably obtained using "stressful" interrogation (i.e. torture to some).  Whether or not his confession is "true" is irrelevant because Bin Laden and Zawahiri are the big fish that need to be caught/killed. 

Is this guy a terrorist, yes.

Is he a significant capture, yes. 

Does it change anything, no.

The Gitmo facility should be closed at this point.  To consider any data we get from the terrorists/combatants there accurate would be a huge mistake.  Most of those guys have been there for going on 5 years and any worthwhile information they had is long gone.

[Diomedes]

You've been hearing it for seven years because it's been happening for seven years.  I'll give it a rest when it's reversed. 

[Cerevant]

Whether or not his confession is "true" is irrelevant...

That is just disturbing.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

The Bush office reminds me of the Eagles FO

They're much more like the skins FO - throwing money at the problem and hoping it will help.  No planning at all.


I SUPPORT YOUR WAR OF TERROR!

[Butchers Bill]

Whether or not his confession is "true" is irrelevant...

That is just disturbing.

When you take a snip of anything and take it out of context, it usually is.   

[Cerevant]

Fine, here's a detailed analysis:

As far as this douche is concerned, the confession was probably obtained using "stressful" interrogation (i.e. torture to some).

Any confession given under duress is not a confession at all.

Whether or not his confession is "true" is irrelevant because Bin Laden and Zawahiri are the big fish that need to be caught/killed. 

If his confession isn't true, then he has not been convicted of a crime.

Is this guy a terrorist, yes.

According to who?  This has not yet been proven in a court of law, but a military tribunal of questionable credibility.  The fact that you don't seem to care if we can prove it or not is what I find disturbing.

Is he a significant capture, yes.

Yes, we should capture those we believe have committed crimes, then try them in a court of law.

Does it change anything, no.

The Gitmo facility should be closed at this point.  To consider any data we get from the terrorists/combatants there accurate would be a huge mistake.  Most of those guys have been there for going on 5 years and any worthwhile information they had is long gone.

This last is in direct conflict with your "he's guilty anyway so kill him" statements made earlier.  How can you stand on both sides of this fence?

[Butchers Bill]

I'm glad you have the time in your day to dissect a post on a football message board in that fashion.  Since I do not have the time, or inclination to do so I simply say that you are still grossly misrepresenting what I tought was a simple post.

Oh, and if you don't think Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a terrorist, you are a fool.

[methdeez]

Newsflash, we lost the war on terror when we pulled troops out of afganistan to fight in Iraq.

Also, I can't believe that you really are defending Gitmo. There's kids in there who were 14 when they were put in.
How can you believe that people are so guilty that they don't deserve a trial?
If they did something, hang 'em. If they are all so guilty what is the US afraid of by putting them on trial?
The truth is, we don't even know who most of these guys are, or what they did. Our information on locking them away was based on one unreliable source They have been in the worst kind of limbo for years because it helps the political macho posturing of some politicians. And the worst part is that it works on morons like you. It is the biggest injustice of the war so far and flies in the face of our Constitution, the Geneva convention and everything America is supposed to stand for. It makes me sick, and I hate to think of American POW's who will suffer b/c of it

[Butchers Bill]

Also, I can't believe that you really are defending Gitmo.

Who is doing this in this thread?

[methdeez]

[quote These scumbags are there for a reason.
[/quote]

[Phanatic]

The Bush office reminds me of the Eagles FO

They're much more like the skins FO - throwing money at the problem and hoping it will help.  No planning at all.


I SUPPORT YOUR WAR OF TERROR!

Throwing money and government at a problem is supposed to be a liberal solution.... which is why I maintain that the Bush administration are actually a bunch of liberals who grew the government with a useless homeland security department instead of making the government smaller and more efficient in the face of 9/11. On social issues sure their conservative, but fiscaly these fargers might as well be Ted Kennedy's liver!