Thursday, November 18, 2010

First Gitmo Detainee, Acquitted on just all but one of 284 Charges


The first Guantanamo Bay detainee to face trail in federal court for his role in the 1998 bombings in East Africa, in which hundreds were killed, was found guilty on one single conspiracy charge and acquitted on the other 284 counts.

This is a major setback for the Obama administration, who hoped to begin the path to bring the other Guantanamo detainees to federal court for trail on terror related charges. This would include Kahlid Sheik Mohanned, and four other co-conspirators accused in planning and organizing the September 11th terror attacks on the United States.

The dilemma for the president, who has repeatedly criticized former President Bush on his setting up of military tribunals, to which was the center piece of his administration handling of those accused of terrorism against the United States. President Obama has left a confusing legacy on what his administration plans to do regarding Guantanamo Bay, and in what venue would detainees be tried-in a federal court utilizing constitutional rights any criminal in the U.S. would face, or in a military tribunal` as should have been done in this case.

Nothing so far from a legal perspective has definitively been established on how to prosecute terror suspects who are captured abroad, in committing acts of violence with the intended purpose is to kill Americans. The president campaigned against the Bush administration detainee policy, but now that he is president he is finding the reality of campaigning is one thing, governing is another!

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