President Obama Likely to Order Military Commission Charges Dropped Against Terrorist

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/president-oba-2.html#comments

President Obama Likely to Order Military Commission Charges Dropped Against Terrorist Suspect Al-Nashiri Friday

ABC News has learned that on Friday, President Obama will likely order the Department of Defense's Military Commission to withdraw charges against terrorist suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The charges may later be reinstated in a military commission or pursued in a civilian court. Al-Nashiri will remain in custody.

The announcement will not be made until after President Obama meets with the families of victims of terrorist attacks on 9/11 and on the U.S.S. Cole, where he will assure them that this step is not being done to be lenient towards al-Nashiri. The move is being done to stop the continued prosecution of al-Nashiri in a court system that his administration may ultimately find illegitimate, not for any other reason, sources told ABC News.

President Obama has expressed concern about whether the military commissions set up by the Bush administration are the proper way to go forward in pursuing charges against the U.S. detainees, and on January 22 he asked all the judges supervising the trials of detainees for a continuance of 120 days, so a team of administration officials could review the best way forward.

In almost the cases, that continuance request was granted. But last week the judge supervising the al-Nashiri trial -- Army Col. James L. Pohl, the chief judge at the Guantanamo Bay war crimes court -- said he would not heed President Obama's request for a 120-day continuance, or delay, in prosecutions of terrorism suspects. Pohl called the president's request "not reasonable" and not "in the interests of justice."

The arraignment of al-Nashiri is scheduled for Monday, February 9.

Al-Nashiri has been identified as the former Persian Gulf Operations Chief for al Qaeda and the mastermind of the attack on the U.S.S. Cole. In March 2007 he testified in military court that he only confessed to certain crimes because he has been tortured for the previous five years.

Asked for reaction to the news, Commander Kirk Lippold (Ret.), former Commander aboard the U.S.S. Cole when it was bombed on October 12, 2000, told ABC News that "I am concerned about the President considering dropping the charges because it may be indicative that the president does not intend to follow the military commissions process which has undergone extensive legal and legislative review."

"For some reason the administration says what's been expressed through the legislature is not sufficient," Lippold said of the military commissions. "They need to allow the process to go forward."

The 26-year Navy veteran said he found the decision to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay "disappointing," but he seemed willing to hear the president out.

"I'm interested in hearing what his long-term plan is on how he's going to deal with the detainees because he hasn't articulated that," he said. "He may have a clear-cut path that may massage some of the concerns that I know many of the families have right now."

In a way, the President tied his administration's own hands, requiring his Secretary of Defense to drop the charges. The executive order President Obama signed on closing the Guantanamo Detention Facilities states that "all proceedings" in the US Military Commissions must be "halted":

"The Secretary of Defense shall immediately take steps sufficient to ensure that during the pendency of the Review described in section 4 of this order, no charges are sworn, or referred to a military commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Rules for Military Commissions, and that all proceedings of such military commissions to which charges have been referred but in which no judgment has been rendered, and all proceedings pending in the United States Court of Military Commission Review, are halted."

It is possible that the President will allow the arraignment to continue, but to do so would be an apparent violation of his own executive order. As of Thursday evening the final decision has not yet been made.

Lippold, a Senior Military Fellow with Military Families United, served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and crafted detainee policy in the initial stages of what the Pentagon called the Global War on Terror. He was invited to meet with the President along with the other families tomorrow.

"I'm looking forward to hearing what the president has to say tomorrow when he meets with the families of the U.S.S. Cole," Lippold said.

Memo to President Obama...

As a Navy brat, we would prefer to serve justice to those who have attacked one of our own. The military courts are fair and have no political bias. Leave your politics out of it and let true justice prevail.

Memo to President Obama...

As a Navy brat, we would prefer to serve justice to those who have attacked one of our own. The military courts are fair and have no political bias. Leave your politics out of it and let true justice prevail.

I think the point is to move the proceedings to a court room where there are no questions of fairness in order to make the finding of that court MORE legitimate. I have no problem with that.

I think the point is to move the proceedings to a court room where there are no questions of fairness in order to make the finding of that court MORE legitimate. I have no problem with that.

Here again, if there are people who want to do that, that's fine. But are we going to withdraw from, or ignore Geneva?

I think the point is to move the proceedings to a court room where there are no questions of fairness in order to make the finding of that court MORE legitimate. I have no problem with that.

When did the war on terror become a war on crime? Acts of war treated as a crime scene now? Weird. And scary.

When did the war on terror become a war on crime? Acts of war treated as a crime scene now? Weird. And scary.

I can see your point. Moving the proceeding from military court to civilian court I think just makes it more internationally legitimate. If the result is more or less the same anyway, why not gain some world brownie point while we're at it.

All we need is some dirtball lawyer getting these maggots off on some bull**** technicality in a civilian court.

And no, all lawyers aren't dirtball's.

Some are even worse.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/president-oba-2.html#comments

Al-Nashiri will remain in custody....

The move is being done to stop the continued prosecution of al-Nashiri in a court system that his administration may ultimately find illegitimate, not for any other reason, sources told ABC News....

President Obama has expressed concern about whether the military commissions set up by the Bush administration are the proper way to go forward in pursuing charges against the U.S. detainees, and on January 22 he asked all the judges supervising the trials of detainees for a continuance of 120 days, so a team of administration officials could review the best way forward.

In almost the cases, that continuance request was granted. But last week the judge supervising the al-Nashiri trial . . . said he would not heed President Obama's request for a 120-day continuance....

Looks like a wise and cautious move to me from a legal point of view. Too bad the judge hearing the case wouldn't let Obama review the tribunals for 120 days.

But of course I'm biased, too. It will be interesting to see how this gets spun by partisans on all sides.

But of course I'm biased, too. It will be interesting to see how this gets spun by partisans on all sides.

Shoot, P. Is that even in question?

R: Obama drops charges against Cole bomber.

D: Obama ensures terror trial will stand up to world scrutiny.

Shoot, P. Is that even in question?

R: Obama drops charges against KNOWN TERRORIST AND MURDERER OF AMERICANS.

D: Obama FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE FOR INNOCENT MAN TORTURED BY DICK CHENEY

Fixed that for ya.

Fixed that for ya.

Which side says Obama denies habeus corpus to USS Cole bomber?

Fixed that for ya.

Yeah, you're right. Unfortunately.

I'm ticked at the former and current adminstrations on this. The Bush Administration was not energetic in trying these detainees and wasted years creating a cumbersome process to conduct trials, and now Obama will repeat that process.

I'm just curious, but when did enemy combatants get constitutional rights??

Answer, NEVER, until Obama became president.

Memo to President Obama...

As a Navy brat, we would prefer to serve justice to those who have attacked one of our own. The military courts are fair and have no political bias. Leave your politics out of it and let true justice prevail.

I assume you mean the new military courts? The ones that had to be redone from scratch because the old ones weren't acceptable to the previous administration?

I'm just curious, but when did enemy combatants get constitutional rights??

Answer, NEVER, until Obama became president.

I'm curious, but when did the Constitution grow a clause that says that "This document only applies to certain people, places, times, and circumstances. Everywhere else, the government has the power to do whatever it wants, without reference to this document whatsoever."?

Answer, NEVER.

Which doesn't prevent 81 from claiming it exists, anyway. Despite the fact that it's never existed the previous 1,000 times he's claimed it exists, either.

Between the stimulus package, appointing tax cheats and being fair to terrorists, this dude is off to a really bad start.

Between the stimulus package, appointing tax cheats and being fair to terrorists, this dude is off to a really bad start.

Fortunately, you've been braced for the horror of his admin by the previous 8 years of that admin pounding our national wife, then urinating, vomiting, and defecating on our furniture, all in front of our eyes while we pay for their dinner and the limo ride home.

There, I think I got the spirit now and can fit in better.

Fortunately, you've been braced for the horror of his admin by the previous 8 years of that admin pounding our national wife, then urinating, vomiting, and defecating on our furniture, all in front of our eyes while we pay for their dinner and the limo ride home.

There, I think I got the spirit now and can fit in better.

Needs more chutzpah.

Something like, after the last several years, claiming that even looking at the new rules is putting politics into justice.