Detainee Transfers Concern Senators

[struggle4progress]

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 14, 2007; Page A11

As the Bush administration accelerates discussions about closing the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a growing chorus of Democrats on Capitol Hill is imploring the State Department not to transfer detainees to countries that may torture them.

In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday, six senators expressed "grave concern" that detainees at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to countries where they have a credible concern of mistreatment upon their arrival. The senators cited recent transfers of detainees to nations with shoddy human rights records, such as Libya and Tunisia.

Led by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the majority whip, the senators wrote that the current policy of obtaining diplomatic assurances that the detainees will be treated lawfully is not enough. They called on the administration to develop an independent review process.

"It is vitally important that the United States stand by its legal obligations not to render individuals to countries where they likely will be tortured," Durbin wrote in a letter also signed by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.), Barack Obama (Ill.), Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), Russell Feingold (Wis.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) ~snip~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301892.html


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301892.html

[PSPS]

1. Look out! "Grave concern!!!11!!". It that worse than a strongly worded letter?

Boy, you got to watch out for those nasty democrats! They really know how to go for the jugular!!!!111!!

[struggle4progress]

2. It's unclear to me what your objection is. You don't regard this as a matter of grave concern?

Or you yourself have written a better letter to Rice?

If you don't give a tinker's dam about the Administration's well-documented history of deporting people to places where they can be tortured by proxies, just say so.

On the other hand, if you have valuable advice on how to solve the problem, do feel free to share it.

At the level of Congressional-Administrative relations, there are certain unavoidable protocol requirements, partly dictated by common courtesy and pasrtly dictated by political considerations, that involve making an effort to express a concern before taking action upon it.

If you find the language "grave concern" risible, you are certainly welcome to explain why. Meanwhile, I myself consider the issue actually to be one of "grave concern."

<edit: grammar>

[PSPS]

3. Of course it's a matter of grave concern

The point of my sarcastic posting that eludes you is that, if the past six months are any indication, this is as far as it ever goes. This batch of spineless democrats demonstrate their worthlessness every day, and this is yet another example we can add to the list.

Issue subpoena, subpoena is ignored, nothing happens.
Attorney General perjures himself under oath, nothing happens.
Requests for sworn testimony answered with "only in private, no oath, no record," nothing happens.

The list is almost as endless as that of bush's unpunished crimes.