Free Republic

Washington (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama has ended a two-year ban on military trials for terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, signing an executive order Monday, reversing a policy put in place shortly after he took office. “From the beginning of my Administration, the United States has worked to bring terrorists to justice consistent with our commitment to protect the American people and uphold our values,” Obama said in a statement Monday. “Today, I am announcing several steps that broaden our ability to bring terrorists to justice, provide oversight for our actions, and ensure the humane treatment of...

President Obama announced Monday that military trials will resume for detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, saying the tribunals are an "important tool in combating international terrorists."

Washington -- U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is trying to prevent the Obama administration from holding criminal trials in civilian courts for the alleged Sept. 11 plotters instead of bringing them before military commissions. Graham, a South Carolina Republican who helped craft the 2006 Military Commissions Act, said Friday that he had attached an amendment to an appropriations bill, which would prohibit funding prosecution and trial of the accused terrorists before federal judges. "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed needs to be tried in a military tribunal," Graham said. "He's not a common criminal. He took up arms against the United States."

President Barack Obama faced condemnation today as he announced he was restarting military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, reviving the system he once labelled "an enormous failure". The trial process, set up by his predecessor George W. Bush for fighters captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan in late 2001, was attacked by human rights organisations because it barred defendants from many of the rights they would have in a civilian courtroom. But Mr Obama said in a statement, the tribunals would resume with modifications to make them fairer. "Military commissions have a long tradition in the United States. They are appropriate...

First, we put the abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib in proper context. One meaning of this story is to demonstrate that we are in a battle between two civilizations. Ours is a modern one, in which people who violate civilized standards on treatment of prisoners will be prosecuted and punished. On the other side is a barbaric civilization, in which graft, torture and mass murder are not only not punished, the perpetrators are praised and supported. No one should doubt at this point that we face a conflict as clear as that between the Romans and the Goths....

WASHINGTON (AP) - Military trials of terrorism suspects should be public to ensure that the world sees the proceedings as fair, said the Air Force officer appointed as chief defense lawyer for the tribunals. Col. Will Gunn said Thursday that he would push for any such trials to be as open as possible. "I see that as in the best interest of the nation as a whole," Gunn told reporters at the Pentagon. "We will be judged from the world community on whether or not the process was fair and just." The military is preparing for possible trials of some...