Dog & Pony Show, Act I
The Bush administration has begun holding secret hearings on the status of 14 high-profile "detainees" at Guantanamo Bay.
These 14 people, of the 385 still imprisoned at Gitmo, were shifted there via the CIA black prison system, used especially for torture. Or as the White House likes to say: "high-stress interrogation". The distinction is immaterial, not least to the torturers.
So it is in the interest of this regime that trials take place in secret. It is also neccesary that these defendants be convicted, otherwise the whole show could be exposed for a farce.
Allowing the defendants to testify in open court would just expose the worst crimes of the Republican administration to the light of day. And who wants that?
Except anyone actually interested in justice.
One might speculate that denying the defendants the basic provisions of the rule of law might aid in getting easy convictions and easy death penalties. But that would smack of a coverup, and there isn't quite evidence for that. Yet.
Any verdict, guilty or innocent, originating from such a one-ring circus should be regarded with as much trust as the trials of offenders under the Taliban regime.
Some may say: "Well sure, but at least one of those men was one of the masterminds behind the September 11th, 2001, terror attacks. If anyone deserves a kangaroo court, it's these guys."
Just remember that "kangaroo" was originally an Australian aboriginal word meaning "I don't know."
And the hope of the Bush administration is that we never will.
Meanwhile, conservative pundits demand that Scooter Libby, convicted of perjury, be set free. Because they're all about that "rule of law" thing. Especially in regards to perjury.
Just ask Bill Clinton.
posted by Metro @ 12:32 pm
2 Comments:
I wonder if America will ever have the honesty to try Bush for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Or even crimes against the American constitution. I am still waiting for the sudden, unexpectedly ginormous "terrorist" act which will give bush the excuse to impose martial law and postpone the 2008 elections.
Oh I believe that there are terrorists, people who are happy to hear of uninvolved people dying for their cause.
And if "we're" better than "them", well we'd better start acting like it. If we start behaving like terrorists, then the terrorists have already won.
Ditto every time someone encroaches on our freedom unopposed in the name of "security". After all, if we all stayed at home in our kitchens with our hands on the table, supervised by a closed-circuit camera we'd be very secure.
Justice must be seen to be done. Therefore it must be done in the glare of spotlights and camera flashes, not in the shadows and in secrecy.
Which seems to be the way this administration wants to do it. I believe it's instinct. After all the under-the-table deals and backroom backslapping the Bush administration just feels more comfortable in the dark.
And I heard Cheney has a violent allergy to daylight.
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