Last cab off the rank

[Gob]

The last British resident being held in Guantanamo Bay is to be returned to the UK, the government has said.



Shaker Aamer, 46, who has been in the military prison in Cuba since 2002, has never been charged or been on trial.

Since 2007 he has been cleared for release twice, by US presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama.

The Saudi national has permission to live in the UK indefinitely because his wife is British. They have four children and live in London.

His daughter Johina, 17, who last saw her father when she was four years old, tweeted: "Thank you everyone for all the support.

"The news hasn't hit yet. We can't believe we might finally see our dad after 14 years."

[MajGenl.Meade]

Good. I wonder why Bush couldn't spring him and apparently nor could Obama until someone wised up. Poor bleeder - might be enough to turn him into a hater but let's hope not. 14 years? Gawd a'mighty.

[Big RR]

14+ years without charge or trial; 8 years after being first cleared for release--and now it's what, no harm no foul? People convicted of every crime imaginable have served much shorter sentences and been released. Could you really blame him if he actually did become radicalized and sought the destruction of the US? I don't think I could.

And yet Gitmo remains open after nearly 6 years of an Obama presidency.

[Long Run]

And yet Gitmo remains open after nearly 6 years of an Obama presidency.

Which would lead one to an obvious conclusion about its guests, if it weren't for releases like this one.

[Econoline]

No, it leads to the realization of just where the balance of power is between the executive and the legislative branches. And just who holds political clout, and how much.

[Big RR]

True, but also to the will of a president willing to bend the constitution for some issues (with EOs), but not willing to exercise his power as the chief executive to transfer inmates anywhere it makes sense to (a proper use of the EO IMHO); and as the head of law enforcement to not direct the AG to charge and try or free the prisoners (at least the ones not now under the jurisdiction of the USSC; also a proper use of the EO). He keeps saying he wants to close it, but actions speak much more loudly than empty promises, and action has been particularly silent on this issue.

[rubato]

I'm ashamed of us.



yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

Since the author of that article was too busy trying to paint this guy as some sort of angelic martyr to be bothered with including anything about why this guy was detained or why he wasn't released, I thought I would add that:

Mr Aamer, a Saudi national who became a naturalised Briton after marrying in 1996, was arrested in Kabul in Afghanistan in 2001, shortly after the US-led invasion to topple the Taliban. A medic by training, he had worked as a translator for the US military during the first gulf war.

US authorities believed Mr Aamer to have been an associate of Osama bin Laden and to have even led a unit of fighters in the battle of Tora Bora.

He has twice been cleared by the White House for release — first by the Bush administration and then again by Mr Obama in 2010. But objections from the Pentagon and CIA meant both previous moves faltered.

US defence officials have now acquiesced. It is almost certainly a condition of his release that Mr Aamer will be subject to close monitoring by the British Security Service, MI5, on his return.

“We have one of the most robust and effective systems in the world to deal with suspected terrorists and those suspected of engaging in terrorist-related activity,” the UK government spokesperson said.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d455f0a0-63a9 ... z3msoY8G76

This case aside, by the Administration's own admission there are at least several dozen terrorists being held at Gitmo that can be neither tried nor released. (However since Obama is so desperate to get the terrorists out of Guantanmo that he was willing to trade five senior terrorist leaders for one deserter, I have little to no confidence that they can be counted on not to release the others, no matter what danger to the country they represent.)

The reason that thus far Obama has not attempted to close Gitmo by executive fiat is because unlike the recent EO over reach attempt regarding his new illegal alien program, closing Gitmo is unpopular with a substantial number of his own party members on the Hill and widely (and wisely) unpopular with the public in general:

Most voters still oppose closing the Guantanamo prison and worry that the suspected terrorists who are released will attack the United States and its allies again.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 29% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the Guantanamo prison camp should be closed. While that’s up slightly from last May and up from 23% in April 2013, support for the prison’s closure is still down from a high of 44% in January 2009 when President Obama first announced his plans to do so. Fifty-three percent (53%) remain opposed to closing Gitmo. Nineteen percent (19%) are undecided.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... attack_u_s

My fear is that Obama is so obsessed with closing Gitmo that once he feels he is beyond the reach of political repercussions, (maybe after next year's election) he will simply use his pardon power to release all the remaining terrorists en masse. (He can't transfer them anywhere in the US since congress has, by bipartisan margins, specifically prohibited their transfer here or to spend any funds to do so.)

[Big RR]

This case aside, by the Administration's own admission there are at least several dozen terrorists being held at Gitmo that can be neither tried nor released. (

and this is what makes absolutely no sense to me; if they are so dangerous they could certainly be tried for crimes and convicted; if not, one wonders what the assessment of being dangerous is based on. But the niceties of law and rights don't seem to apply when it comes to the politics of fear.

[rubato]

Since the author of that article was too busy trying to paint this guy as some sort of angelic martyr to be bothered with including anything about why this guy was detained or why he wasn't released, I thought I would add that:

"...

US authorities believed Mr Aamer to have been an associate of Osama bin Laden and to have even led a unit of fighters in the battle of Tora Bora.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d455f0a0-63a9 ... z3msoY8G76

So he was suspected of something and that justifies locking him up for 12 years?

Holy crap you really don't understand why we have a constitution do you?


yrs,
rubato

[Big RR]

Holy crap you really don't understand why we have a constitution do you?

Sadly, that is something the federal government, and especially the courts, seems to have forgotten as well.