http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/guantanamo/ en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:20 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413823/posts WASHINGTON — Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantánamo Bay prison. As a result, officials now believe that they are unlikely to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer its population of terrorism suspects until 2011 at the earliest — a far slower timeline for achieving one of President Obama’s signature national security policies than they had previously hinted. While Mr. Obama has acknowledged that he would miss the Jan. 22 deadline for... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413823/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413813/posts “Absurd, if not obscene” is how former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey characterized the recent claim by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that relocating terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois will create new jobs in the surrounding area. In an exclusive interview with HUMAN EVENTS yesterday, Mukasey replied to claims by Durbin, in both remarks outside the White House and in an article in The Hill, that the move of nearly 100 Guantanamo prisoners to the Illinois-based facility “will have a tremendously positive impact on the local economy -- creating more than... Human Events http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413813/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:49:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413545/posts Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantánamo Bay prison. As a result, officials now believe that they are unlikely to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer its population of terrorism suspects until 2011 at the earliest... The administration appeared to take a major step forward last week when [Obama] directed subordinates to move “as expeditiously as possible” to acquire the Thomson Correctional Center, a nearly vacant maximum-security Illinois prison... But in interviews... The Obama Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413545/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:06:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412686/posts Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASES Sunday, December 20, 2009 United States Transfers 12 Guantanamo Bay Detainees to Afghanistan, Yemen and the Somaliland Region Twelve detainees have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan, Yemen and the Somaliland region. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of each of these cases. As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including potential threat, mitigation measures and the likelihood of success in habeas litigation, the detainees were... US DOJ.gov - Justice.gov/opa - Press Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412686/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:25:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412242/posts Showdown in Sterling on 12/22: rally against the jailhouse jihad moving north to Thomson No, al Qaeda will not break out of “beyond Supermax.” They’ll just wage jailhouse jihad at every opportunity and force guards to extract them from their cells when its feeding time. The slightest bruise will be dutifully reported to the press by their pro bono lawyers. Those indicted will have similar fun in lockups around the country for, in addition to Manhattan and Brooklyn, an additional 50 detainees will be farmed out for federal prosecution. Gitmo in the heartland Attorney General Eric Holder is, of course,... 911NeverForget.Us http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412242/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:36:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410429/posts The Obama administration is planning to repatriate six Yemenis held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a transfer that could be a prelude to the release of dozens more detainees to Yemen, according to sources with independent knowledge of the matter. The release is a significant first step toward dealing with the largest group of detainees at the prison -- there are currently 97 Yemenis there -- and toward meeting President Obama's goal of closing the facility. But Yemen's security problems and lack of resources have spawned fears about its ability to monitor and rehabilitate returnees. Critics... Washington comPost http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410429/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:45:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2409772/posts Gitmo Does Not Cause Terrorism"Terrorism is caused, and terrorist recruitment is driven, by Islamist ideology and by American weakness in the face of terror attacks. In that sense, Senator Durbin causes more terrorism than Gitmo ever will. Terrorist organizations are encouraged when they come to believe they can win — when they come to believe they can outlast America because we lack resolve." -- Andy McCarthy 12/18/2009 Americans Oppose Closing Gitmo, Moving Prisoners to U.S."Americans remain opposed to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and moving some of the terrorist suspects being held there to U.S. prisons: 30% favor... 911NeverForget.Us http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2409772/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:02:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2408773/posts Sen Dick Durban (D-IL), a defender of the plan to bring terrorists into the heart of America, proved that he is more interested in pork than in the safety of his constituents: “We believe this is in service to our country,” said Durbin who noted that Obama was directing the prisoners to his home state. “This is a great opportunity. Our state unemployment numbers are 11%…People are desperate for good jobs.” In the smackdown heard ’round the world, Liz Cheney responded: “Americans did not elect President Obama to usher terrorists onto the homeland and call it a jobs program.” Indeed... Grand Rants http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2408773/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:23:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408612/posts Note: The following text is a quote: Some Guantanamo Detainees to Move to Illinois Prison By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2009 – President Barack Obama’s administration plans to transfer a limited number of detainees held at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a prison in rural western Illinois, senior administration officials said here today. The federal government plans to acquire Thomson Correctional Center, a 10-year-old maximum security prison in Thomson, Ill., a farming community about 150 miles west of Chicago, officials said in a background briefing. The administration would need to work... DEFENSE.gov - American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408612/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:54:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407943/posts If Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is clever he will turn his trial into an Obama birth certificate circus. The New York Post has an excellent piece by attorney Michael Schwartz, pointing out the difficulty of predicting a jury's verdict in the pending Khalid Shaikh Mohammed trial in New York City. His article is entitled "Why the gov't could lose this case." But there is a complex, two-part possibility that Attorney Schwartz did not consider. KSM has said he wants to put the US government on trial and will probably bring up the Bush administration and mention waterboarding as torture in the... intellectualconservative.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407943/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:28:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408330/posts Now for those in northern Illinois, welcome to the area becoming stigmatized for a very, very long time. Allvoices http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408330/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:30:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407605/posts Justice: A leaked memo exposes the hypocrisy of those who opposed indefinite detention of terrorists without trial at Guantanamo. For the right price, they're willing to hold detainees without trial indefinitely in America's heartland. The plan to ship as many as 100 unidentified terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay to a little used prison in Thomson, Ill., a sleepy town of 450 people near the Mississippi River about 150 miles west of Chicago, is well under way, according to a Justice Department memo unearthed by Andrew Breitbart and biggovernment.com. The memo allegedly from Eric Holder's Department of Justice to Defense Secretary... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407605/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:08:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407429/posts The United States has asked NATO member Bulgaria to house detainees from its prison camp at Guantanamo in Cuba, Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said on Saturday. bdnews24.com/Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407429/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:50:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407198/posts The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday that it rejected an appeal by four former Guantanamo Bay prisoners arguing that they should be able to proceed with their lawsuit against top Pentagon officials for torture and religious abuse. The justices refused to review a U.S. appeals court ruling that dismissed the lawsuit by the four British citizens over their treatment at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba on the grounds the officials enjoyed immunity. The four men -- Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Rhuhel Ahmed and Jamal al-Harith -- were captured in late 2001 in Afghanistan and were... al Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407198/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:15:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404255/posts Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, December 9, 2009 United States Transfers One Guantanamo Bay Detainee to Kuwait Fouad Mahmoud al-Rabiah, a Kuwaiti national, has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of Kuwait. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the Administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer... US DOJ.gov - Justice.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404255/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:24:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400021/posts Note: Photo included. SNIPPET: "A former Guantanamo detainee has emerged as a leading ideologue and theologian for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula – one of the strongest al Qaeda affiliates in the world. Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish was captured by Pakistani authorities in late 2001 and then handed over to American officials who transferred him to Guantanamo. Rubaish was held there until Dec. 13, 2006, when he was transferred to Saudi Arabia and placed in the Saudi rehabilitation program for jihadists. At some point, Rubaish escaped from Saudi Arabia by fleeing south to Yemen. In February 2009, the Saudi... LONG WAR JOURNAL.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400021/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 10:03:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398019/posts Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-ag-1289.html Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, December 1, 2009 United States Transfers a Guantanamo Bay Detainee to France WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced that a detainee has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of France. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance... U.S. DOJ.gov (2 press releases) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398019/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 00:16:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397462/posts SNIPPET: "Adel Ben Mabrouk, 39, and Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri, 43, are suspected of being members of a terror group with ties to al-Qaida. They were immediately taken into custody upon arrival in Milan and will be interrogated, a prosecutor told The Associated Press. (AP) via YNET NEWS.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397462/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 09:19:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396095/posts The glorious fruit of giving the 9/11 plotters civilian trials is already beginning to appear. Watch for these guys to walk—after wasting a few taxpayer millions, that is. “Mental State Cited in 9/11 Case,” by Jess Bravin in the Wall Street Journal, November 27 (thanks to Elisa): WASHINGTON—When five defendants are brought before a New York federal judge to face charges for the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the first question may be whether some of them are competent to stand trial at all. Military lawyers for Ramzi Binalshibh, an accused organizer of the 9/11 plot, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi,... jihad watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396095/posts#comment Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:19:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395201/posts WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 10, 2009) — House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressing serious concerns regarding the consideration of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as a potential site for detainees transferred from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Skelton, a long-time advocate for Professional Military Education, raised concerns that a number of Muslim countries would stop sending students to the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth if Guantanamo detainees were transferred there. Skelton also noted that the United States Code precludes the proximate detention of American and foreign individuals, so any plan to... Pulaski County Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395201/posts#comment Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:20:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393805/posts Who gave this jihadi chasing lawyer the a-ok to speak for the Gitmo terrorists? Scott Fenstermaker has been on a publicity tour acting as though he is authorized to speak for the terrorists scheduled to make an appearance in federal criminal court. Fifteen months ago, Fenstermaker lost privileges and was removed from the military commissions civilian defense counsel pool. Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has the exclusive story with information from a Pentagon source including a copy of the letter Fenstermaker received from Steven David, the chief defense council of the collection of attorneys who represented detainees at Camp Delta... http://www.radioviceonline.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393805/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:03:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392059/posts ALGIERS, Algeria -- An Algerian court on Sunday acquitted two former detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who were returned home to face charges of links to terrorism, their defense lawyer said. Abdelli Faghoul and Terari Mohamed had admitted in court to links with the illegal drug underworld, but denied any connection to foreign terrorist groups, defense lawyer Farid Abbache-Holder told The Associated Press. The two men were released from Guantanamo and handed over to Algerian authorities on Aug. 15, 2008 - nearly seven years after they were taken into custody and held without trial, the lawyer said. The defendants traveled... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392059/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:48:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390833/posts Why the Greg Craig debacle matters By: Elizabeth Drew November 19, 2009 11:58 AM EST President Barack Obama is returning from his trek to Asia Thursday to a capital that is a considerably more dangerous place for him than when he departed. While he was abroad, there was a palpable sense at home of something gone wrong. A critical mass of influential people who once held big hopes for his presidency began to wonder whether they had misjudged the man. Most significant, these doubters now find themselves with a new reluctance to defend Obama at a phase of his presidency... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390833/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:17:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389528/posts War On Terror: Sen. Dick Durbin calls a plan to transfer 100 Guantanamo detainees to northwest Illinois "a dream come true." It would paint a bull's-eye on America's heartland in time for the 2012 Iowa caucuses. It seems the question of where to put the Guantanamo detainees is being settled as we speak, with liberal Democrats in the very blue state of Illinois welcoming them with open arms and outstretched hands for the federal dollars that will come with them. Federal officials last Friday inspected the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., a town of 500 on the Iowa border,... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389528/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:48:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387709/posts The Two Rivers Detention Facility in Hardin is still making national headlines as Sunday's CBS Evening News featured the controversial multi-million dollar jail that has sat empty since it was built. (cut) But, President Obama has yet to decide where the Guantanamo detainees will go and the folks in Hardin say "bring 'em on". Montana's News Station http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387709/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:27:11 GMT