How the Military Commissions Obscure Gitmo's Real Purpose

[kpete]

How the Military Commissions Obscure Gitmo's Real Purpose

Focusing on the troubled commissions only distracts observers from confronting the truth about Guantanamo Bay: that the vast majority of its detainees will never face a trial of any kind.

Jonathan Hafetz | June 14, 2007

Last week's surprise rulings by two military judges at Guantanamo Bay threw into turmoil the president's effort to try suspected terrorists by military commissions. The rulings halted current proceedings involving two detainees and sparked new debates about the wisdom and legality of the commissions themselves. But larger questions remain about the role that such military commissions fill at Guantanamo, where the overriding purpose is to detain individuals without any trial at all. That purpose is obscured by the continued and misplaced focus on military trials -- a product of our cultural fascination with courtroom drama.
It's worth recalling the genesis of these trials. The president created military commissions two months after September 11 as part of his "new paradigm." The administration claimed that the commissions provided the necessary speed and flexibility to bring suspected terrorists to justice. These were attributes, the administration argued, that criminal trials in civilian courts lacked. The expectation was that most detainees taken to Guantanamo would be quickly charged and convicted.

But within months, the administration realized that it did not have the evidence to charge, let alone convict, most Guantanamo detainees of anything. As Lt. Col. Thomas S. Berg, a member of the original military prosecution team, told the press, "It became obvious to us as we reviewed the evidence that, in many cases, we had simply gotten the slowest guys on the battlefield. We literally found guys who had been shot in the butt."

So, the administration changed gears, turning Guantanamo into a permanent system of indefinite detention. In more than five years, only ten of the seven hundred individuals detained at Guantanamo have even been charged before military commissions, and no trial has taken place.

more at:
http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=37134

[Peace Patriot]

1. No, I don't think Guantanamo was "turned into" a permanent illegal center for

indefinite detention. That was the Bush Cartel's intention from day one, and the "military commissions" were never anything but cosmetic. Nice to have a private prison, with no rules, for all your oil cartel enemies and former "terrorist" co-conspirators around the world, lost in a mass of tortured innocents, and also within a worldwide prison and torture dungeon system. The Bush Cartel pushes generals and lt. cols. out in front of its dirty dealings much like the mafia launders money through legitimate businesses.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

2. Well, I've always believed the real purpose was 'forced' intelligence.

In other words, collect human "capital" and brainwash or torture into serving as US intelligence. That's been my belief.

[Solly Mack]

3. MCA of 2006 was a criminal piece of shit legislation to provide legal cover

for war crimes - but that's just me being nice about it

[Solly Mack]

4. kick