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August 03, 2006
| Gonzales: Gitmo Prisoners Can Be Held "Indefinitely" | Rights, Law |
How long can the US continue to hold Gitmo prisoners without charge or trial? AG Gonzales still says forever. AFP:
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the US government could "indefinitely" hold foreign "enemy combatants" at sites like the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."We can detain any combatants for the duration of the hostilities," said Gonzales, speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"If we choose to try them, that's great. If we don't choose to try them, we can continue to hold them," he said. [...]
A Supreme Court ruling last month declared that government of President George W. Bush had overstepped his authority in forming military commissions to try detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
That authority, the court said, belongs to Congress, and the Senate committee is now hearing testimony on how the Guantanamo prisoners should be dealt with. [...]
The Washington Post, quoting anonymous Bush administration officials, reported Wednesday that the White House also hopes to allow the secretary of defense to add crimes at will to the military court's jurisdiction.
Senators did not question Gonzales directly about this, though the attorney general gave assurances that no US citizen would face these courts. [Emphasis added]
The US government can imprison people without charge or trial and hold them for the "duration of hostilities" in a war without end.
What's astonishing is how quickly we Americans have grown accustomed to this insanity. We let them get away with it, then we wonder what's happened to our country. They will continue to grab power and take away our rights until we stop them. It's that simple.
Posted by Jonathan at August 3, 2006 04:51 PM
