Why do we actually care about GITMO?.....have we just recently become civilized(more).....WAR will never leave and humans are what humans are...
I cant wait for the moon wars......that will be a show not to miss.....if one is on the moon and becomes a suicide bomber....would they be a terrorist?.....Would GITMO move to the moon?....Would there be a 'new Columbus' to the moon in history books?......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
MULLAH SPRUNG FROM GITMO JAIL NOW LEADS FOE IN AFGHAN CAMPAIGN By SETH G. JONES
July 5, 2009 -- KABUL, Afghanistan -- As Marine Corps forces roll into southern Afghanistan, they face an enemy familiar to US officials -- Mullah Zakir, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who now leads a reconstituted Taliban.
Abdul Qayum Zakir, also known as Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is from Helmand Province and has taken a circuitous route to become head of the radical Islamic group.
Zakir was a senior fighter during the Taliban regime in the 1990s. In a memorandum prepared for his administrative review board at Guantanamo, Zakir apparently "felt it would be fine to wage jihad against Americans, Jews, or Israelis if they were invading his country."
And he acknowledged that he was "called to fight jihad in approximately 1997," when he joined the Taliban.
In 2001, he surrendered to US and Afghan forces in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif as the regime was collapsing. He spent the next several years in custody, was transferred to Guantanamo around 2006, then to Afghanistan government custody in late 2007, and was eventually released around May 2008. American officials won't say why he was let go and have not released a photograph of him.
Zakir wasted little time rekindling his relationship with the Taliban, especially its inner shura, or leadership council, based in Pakistan. According to some accounts, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar appointed Zakir as a senior military commander in mid-2008. He quickly developed a reputation as a charismatic leader.
By this time, the Taliban had established a system of shadow-government structures in parts of Afghanistan: provincial governors, military commanders, and mullahs who served on Islamic courts.
The Taliban's goal, as with many insurgent groups, has been to provide more effective law and order than the Afghan government. But it has been one of the most oppressive governments in modern history, banning many forms of entertainment, prohibiting women from working, and conducting public executions of suspected collaborators.
It was in this context that Zakir made his defining contribution to the southern insurgency -- and created an opportunity for US forces to exploit. Early this year, he began to reorganize the Taliban. He helped create an "accountability commission" to monitor and evaluate the performance of key Taliban leaders and track spending.
In some ways, Zakir's efforts paralleled those of the United States, which was laying out a new Afghanistan strategy under the Obama administration at about the same time. The Taliban, apparently concerned that some governors and military commanders had become ineffective and bracing for the growing US military presence, announced its own new strategy in April.
They called it Operation Nasrat ("victory") and pledged to use "ambushes, offensives, explosions, martyrdom-seeking attacks, and surprise attacks." The Taliban also warned that they would attack "military units of the invading forces, diplomatic centers, mobile convoys and high-ranking officials" of the Afghan government.
As Marines move through Helmand, they will be on the lookout for Zakir and his support network. But like many senior Taliban leaders, Zakir spends a lot of time in Pakistani cities like Quetta and Karachi, frightened he'll be killed in an attack.
Zakir's restructuring presents an opportunity for NATO and Afghan forces. As in any business reorganization, firing senior leaders is bound to create a contingent of disgruntled individuals who may be co-opted to turn against the Taliban. A number of fired Taliban commanders have apparently refused to give up their jobs.
As part of the current US military offensive, Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson stated that "where we go, we will stay and where we stay, we will hold, build, and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces."
The allies will need the support, or at least acquiescence, of local Afghans -- including tribes and subtribes that oppose the Taliban but have been intimidated because Afghan and NATO forces have failed to protect them.
The face of the Taliban may not be new, but defeating the Taliban and other insurgent groups requires taking advantage of their vulnerabilities and better understanding local politics in Afghanistan.
Seth G. Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corp., is author of "In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan," out now.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Sites for trials of Gitmo detainees debated BY DEVLIN BARRETT The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Staring at a January deadline, the Obama administration is debating between two dramatically different schemes for putting Guantanamo Bay detainees on trial: big-city courtrooms in the nation’s capital, New York and Virginia — or a one-of-a-kind superjail in the Midwest. And the participants, working in tense but amicable secret meetings, know the final and politically volatile decision about where to try detainees will be made by President Barack Obama, who set the deadline for closing the prison on the military base in Cuba to meet a campaign promise. Dozens of Guantanamo Bay detainee cases have been referred to federal prosecutors for possible criminal trials in those Eastern Seaboard locations, officials told The Associated Press on Monday, as the Justice Department, Pentagon and national security officials also weigh whether to hold virtually all Guantanamo-related civilian and military trials at a Midwestern prison in Michigan or Kansas. The administration could decide that rather than bring the detainees to trial in a number of cities, it will instead bring prosecutors and judges with terrorism experience to one site in the Midwest for trial, which would pose other serious logistical hurdles. Or they could settle on a combination of the plans. Obama administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations, said Attorney General Eric Holder met privately last week with the chief federal prosecutors in four East Coast districts to discuss the preparations for possible indictments and trials. Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the Guantanamo Bay detainee task force “has referred a significant number of cases for possible prosecution, and those cases have now been sent to U.S. Attorney offices who are reviewing them with prosecutors from the Office of Military Commissions.” His statement didn’t identify the districts involved. .......................>>>>...................>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00300&AppName=1
I think Schenectady should bid for one here....lights camera action....just think of all the tourists......$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Running man........
a trip to the Farmer's market(to support local Americana), stop at the book store for autographes(mugshots), grab a burrito(for fire works after the show) then head to the headshop(just to keep things calm) before the show......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
- FOXNews.com - January 05, 2010 U.S. to Suspend Gitmo Detainee Transfers to Yemen
The U.S. will not transfer any detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Yemen right now, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.
The U.S. will not transfer any detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Yemen right now, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.
Ninety detainees in Gitmo are from Yemen, which is combating a resurgent Al Qaeda.
Alleged Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is also said to have gotten training in Yemen before carrying explosives on a Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. His attempt to detonate the bomb was foiled when his device malfunctioned and he was tackled by a passenger.
"One of the very first things Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula used as a tool was Gitmo," Gibbs said. "We're not going to make transfers to a country like Yemen that they're not capable of handling (the detainees). While we remain committed to closing the detention facility, the determination has been made that right now any additional transfers to Yemen is not a good idea."
The announcement comes as President Obama misses his original deadline for closing the facility -- a pledge he made on his first week in office. He also is facing considerable political pressure from several lawmakers who've asked him not to return any detainees to the poorest Arab country, located across from the Horn of Africa. ...........>>>>................>>>>.................http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/05/suspend-gitmo-detainee-transfers-yemen/
This administration appears to be leading this country by looking through their rear view mirror. They clearly don't have a clue. What national embarrassment!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Bumble--I hope you're wrong. I don't find them to be clueless or an embarrassment. I do think they are having trouble coming up from under Bush's mess.
Bumble--I hope you're wrong. I don't find them to be clueless or an embarrassment. I do think they are having trouble coming up from under Bush's mess.
Oh please, stop blaming someone else ... this is a new administration, and as your fearful fearless leader said "a new day, a new administration". It's about time he, and you, start taking responsibility for what's happening TODAY.
Funny how they all blame the past administrations for EVERYTHING! Reagan just took the bull by the horns, and lead the country without looking back. He only looked back as to not repeat the same mistakes.
And let us also remember that JFK(d) followed a similar path by cutting taxes to advance the economy just as Reagan did.
Obama and crew needs a lesson in history.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
You can only blame a previous administration for the first 9 months now Obama owns it. He has to accept any failures for the stimulus, health-care, and cap and trade for they were all conceived under his administration. We were not attacked under the Bush administrations policies a fact that the Dems conveniently seem to forget. Bush has his own baggage to be responsible for like tarp, Iraq, Afghanistan, and his failed immigration plan. Obama is in over his head but that's what happens when you elect a community organizer who has never even run a lemonade stand IMHO.
Really--and did you take responsibility for Bush and his antics?
Yes - I admitted some of Bush's policies were stupid - so did Congress, and they didn't make them law. And besides, why does this have to be democrat-v-republican? This isn't a party line issue, this is about what's RIGHT for the country.
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