Posts Tagged ‘Bagram’

All Aboard For Jellyfish Lake

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

A country that does not fear the rule of law would do the right thing: try or release all those still being held at Guantanamo, Bagram, and elsewhere.

Allow sentences to be served either in the United States or the home country of those found guilty (assuming they won’t be tortured).

Allow those who are released without trial to live in the United States or return to their home country (assuming they won’t be tortured).

But a country of cowards ships ‘em out to Palau!

palau

Seems only right for us quivering, spineless, and fearful Americans to give the Palau Visitors Authority a plug. They provided the picture above and the courage of our failure at convictions.

Gorilla says: “Be sure to wave to our brave politicians when you see ‘em at Jellyfish Lake!”

Share

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Gorilla Meek | 2 Comments »

I Mean, It’s Only Been 8 Years…

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

We’ve had Guantanamo going a while now, and Bagram, and extraordinary rendition, and warrantless spying on Americans, but our leaders can’t quite bring themselves to do anything, except commission endless studies that miss endless deadlines.

A President who was a leader would say: “We’re releasing those who are innocent or not a threat and closing Guantanamo immediately. We hope they’ll return to their country of origin, but if they can’t we’ll take ‘em in. The rest we’re putting on trial in civilian courts in the United States. Those found guilty will serve their sentences in maximum security prisons. Those found innocent will be released, either to their country of origin or to the United States. We are not a cowardly nation, and we therefore have nothing to fear from the rule of law”.

But the one we’ve got likes to kick cans down the road, when he’s not getting rolled by his fellow profiles in courage.

Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Gorilla Meek | No Comments »

Backing Up To Bagram

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Time for some prison reform Pentagon style!

How we are supposed to do this and “win” with a force of 40 odd thousand men, who still haven’t got control of Afghanistan, or captured Bin Laden, is well beyond the imagination of this non-expert.

Bagram’s been a blot, because we tortured people there and no one other than very small fish has ever been held accountable.

When’s the exit strategy? Will we have national health care before or after?

Gorilla thinks: “Going backward is all we keep saying and all we’re good at”.

Share

Tags: ,
Posted in Gorilla Meek | No Comments »

Human Rights, American Style

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Digby’s got it in one, and so does Glenn Greenwald…

For a guy who used to teach constitutional law, our President sure doesn’t care much for the Constitution.

Preventive detention is absolutely abhorrent, it’s the stuff of the Nazis and the Soviets, and it should be utterly unacceptable to any American.

So is torture, which we’re still subcontracting out to some of the world’s worst regimes.

So is our continuing refusal to try those held in Guantanamo, Bagram, and elsewhere in civilian courts in the United States.

So is our cowardly refusal to imprison those found guilty in the United States and release those who are innocent, either in the United States (if they have a well founded fear of persection) or in their country of origin (if they don’t).

So is our government’s defense of the “state secrets” doctrine, a page right out of the KGB manual.

And we live in a country that wallows in the lethal cesspool of phony patriotism and adolescent fear, whose government can spy on any citizen without a warrant, and whose feckless leaders keep insulting our intelligence with their cost-free, question-free, ethics-free, and Constitution-free discourse.

Would there were as much anger about this as it deserves, but that’s wishful thinking.

So, let’s all keep trying to sell our houses to each other and give the bankers as much as they can piss away!

Share

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Gorilla Meek | No Comments »