Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

Obama revives terror tribunals, dismaying liberals

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-16 09:02

His administration will have only four months to finish the nine trials before then, or risk moving the cases to the United States if they are still under way. If that happens, the detainees would be given even greater legal rights than they have at Guantanamo - and more than Obama wants to give.

Related readings:  Germany rejects Guantanamo inmates  Guantanamo detainees say they planned 9/11: report  National Geographic film goes Inside Guantanamo  Obama criticizes some Guantanamo release decisions  Pentagon: 61 ex-Guantanamo inmates return to terrorism

Asking Congress to change the 2006 commissions law could create longer delays. Lawmakers, leery that the detainees could be brought to the US, already have held up funding for closing the prison until the White House outlines details of how it would happen.

Obama could roll back the January 2010 deadline, which he imposed on his second day in office. That could throw in doubt his campaign promise to shut down the prison and, at the least, highlight his struggle to reverse Bush-era national security policies that damaged America's image worldwide and stoked recruitment among insurgents.

Clive Stafford Smith, who represents several current and former detainees, was surprised that the Obama administration plans to restart the trials at Guantanamo instead of elsewhere. "There is zero chance that the military commissions could be over by January, so that cannot possibly be the plan," he said.

Navy Lt. Richard Federico, who represents two Guantanamo detainees charged before the military commissions, including alleged 9/11 plotter Ramzi bin al Shibh, also doubted cases could be completed by January. Litigation over the legality of the new rules "will certainly incur additional delay," Federico told The Associated Press.

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page  

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page