In A Change In Policy, The U.S. Will Now Permit Military Tribunals For Guantanamo Detainees

Obama May Reconsider Military Tribunals For Guantanamo Detainees, Reports Say -- ABC News

Administration Faces Objections from Congress, Lack of Cooperation From Foreign Partners

Exactly two years ago from tomorrow, President Obama took the bold step of signing an executive order calling for the shutdown of the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention center "as soon as practicable, and no later than one year from now."

It was one of the first orders of business, and a hugely symbolic step, taken up by the newly-elected president, who argued that such a move would make Americans safer.

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More News On The U.S. Permitting Military Tribunals For Guantanamo Detainees

U.S. to Press Ahead on Guantanamo Trials -- Wall Street Journal
Guantanamo tribunals may resume -- Al Jazeera
US eyes new Guantanamo trials, despite criticism -- AFP
AP source: Ban on new Gitmo cases to be lifted -- AP
Barack Obama abandons Guantánamo closure plan after Congress veto -- The Guardian
Report: Pentagon to ramp up Guantánamo war court cases -- Miami Herald
Report: U.S. To Start New Military Trials Against Guantanamo Inmates -- Radio Free Europe
Report: Guantanamo Tribunals to Begin Anew -- CBS News
A Warning to Obama on Guantanamo -- New York Times
Reversal of Guantanamo policy 'will harm US reputation abroad' -- Deutsche Welle

Getting Ready For The Military Tribunals

Photo: An Army guard in a corridor of cells in Camp Five, a facility at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba. Joe Skipper/Reuters

Obama Appoints New Chief For War Court At Guantanamo -- McClatchy News

In the clearest sign yet that the Obama administration is re-energizing tribunals for captives at a Guantanamo it wants closed, the Pentagon this week installed a retired three-star admiral with national security and international law experience to run the war court.

The appointment also comes as Congress is still resisting a White House plan to hold military trials in Illinois, and while the administration is reviewing Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to hold the Sept. 11 mass murder trial in Manhattan.

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My Comment: I predicted this over a year ago .... it appears that the White House has now seen the light.

Cole Attack Trial Will Test Tribunal System

The USS Cole

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — In April 2001, seven months after the Navy destroyer Cole was bombed in Yemen, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was staying at a Qaeda guesthouse in Afghanistan when he is alleged to have laid out how he had planned the whole thing.

One of those houseguests was later captured, and he told F.B.I. agents the story of those boasts and implied that he could be a star witness if Mr. Nashiri were tried for the murder of the 17 American sailors killed in the attack.

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My Comment: An interesting examination and analysis on why some Guantanamo detainees must be put in front of a military tribunal. I was surprise to find this article informative and an interesting read.

Tribunals To Return, Detainees To Have More Rights

Getty Images

From Yahoo News/AP:

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will restart military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees, reviving a Bush-era trial system he once assailed as flawed but with new legal protections for terror suspects, U.S. officials said.

The changes to the system, which will affect a small number of detainees, will be announced Friday.

The military trials will remain frozen for another four months as the administration adjusts the legal system that is expected to try fewer than 20 of the 241 detainees at the U.S. naval detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Thirteen detainees — including five charged with helping orchestrate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — are already in the tribunal system.

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More News On The Return Of Detainee Tribunals

Obama plans to resume military tribunals for detainees -- Yahoo News/AFP
Tribunals to Return, Detainees to Have More Rights -- Washington Post
Obama to renew military tribunals -- L.A. Times
At Hearing, Assurance On Fate of Detainees -- Washington Post
Obama to relaunch military tribunals for terror suspects -- Christian Science Monitor
Obama Planning to Keep Tribunals for Detainees -- New York Times
Obama decides to try some detainees before military commissions -- Miami Herald/McClatchy News
Guantanamo Military Tribunals to Resume -- Voice of America
US Lawmakers Press Attorney General on Interrogation, Guantanamo Issues -- Voice of America