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Zero Dark Thirty vs. Guantanamo: guess who wins...

Google it, my friends. There are ten times as many hits for Zero Dark Thirty (239,000,000 results) as there are for Guantanamo (34,900,000 results).

More people know more about a fantasy movie than they do about a critical site in today's global interactions. Guantanamo, if you study it a bit, is a site for:

• illegal detentions,
• illegal torture,
• evasion of the Rule of Law,
• excuses for hiding information from the American public,
• a feable means to try and terrorize Islamists, and
• an unparalleled recruitment tool for 'al-Qaeda' groups.

It's that last one that really bothers us. Americans are deaf, dumb, and blind when it comes to understanding the dangers that Guantanamo generates...not for the prisoners held there, but for us! We are the ones who will be attacked with Guantanamo as a critical component of the justification of the terrorist attacks to come. Read the terrorist literature and you'll see how often it is mentioned.

We wish we knew how to educate U.S. citizens about the realities of the world they live in and about the truth concerning how the actions of the Obama administration generate waves of hatred that will continue to build the ranks of 'al-Qaeda' groups and create more and more terrorism. And some of that terrorism will be directed at us! If we all understood, we'd close that place down in a day.

Yes, it's not Obama alone, of course, and his drones, lies, blind-eyes toward corruption, support of vicious regimes, and ..well, you know, all the bad stuff. Other administrations before and probably after will continue to behave in long-term-self-defeating ways. But as the Commander in Chief, as the most powerful political leader on the face of the earth (as I am sure he likes to think of himself), as Mr. President he could be doing a lot more to change the way America is percieved in the world, and the level of anger directed toward us, and the consequent damage we will have to endure.

'Revenge' shows 238,000,000 results.

January 14, 2013 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact-dedicated to steering all of us toward more peaceful tomorrows.

Feinstein Statement on CIA Detention, Interrogation Report

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Senator Diane Feinstein (Democrat, California) said today, “I strongly believe that the creation of long-term, clandestine ‘black sites’ and the use of so-called ‘enhanced-interrogation techniques’ were terrible mistakes."

We like her, and we hope she gets permission to open the report publicly. After all, we paid for it.

The National Defense Authorization Act: al Qaeda wins again, without a fight.

The National Defense Authorization Act: al Qaeda wins again, without a fight.
December 6, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

Yesterday the Senate unanimously passed the 2013 NDAA which specifies military spending for the coming year. There was no money allocated for the transfer prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay Prison to the the U.S.

This effectively prevents President Obama from closing the prison.

Al Qaeda has used Guantanamo as a recruiting tool saying that it is an example of the immorality of America; that it is an example of our trampling the basic rights of everyone to have a fair trial; saying that it proves al Qaeda is winning because it is forcing America to pass laws against what is claims to stand for: Justice for All. They hold Guantanamo to be an example of America's hypocrisy.

We have to agree that Guantanamo is a blight on our adherence to the Rule of Law. We have to assume that al Qaeda will again use Guantanamo as a powerful tool to attract  young men and women to its terrorist cause. They did it before, and they'll do it again.

President Obama had threatened to veto the NDAA if it did not contain provisions to close Guantanamo. We thought this was courageous. He then reversed himself.

We hope he will rediscover in himself the courage to veto the 2013 NDAA and show those terrorists, and anyone else who is looking, that we stand by our commitment to Justice for All. It will be a big step on the road to more peaceful tomorrows.

 

HELP! The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act may help fullfil Bin Laden's dreams

HELP! The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act may help fullfil Bin Laden's dreams
December 4, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

October, 2001: "I tell you freedom and human rights in America are doomed." This was a dream of Osama Bin Laden which he published in English.

November, 2002: "You have claimed to be the vanguards of Human Rights...all these things vanished when the Mujahideen hit you...you captured thousands the Muslims and Arabs, took them into custody with neither reason, court trial, nor even disclosing their names. You issued newer, harsher laws." This was also from Bin Laden, in Arabic, and later disseminated on the web in English.

Osama Bin Laden went on to say, "What happens in Guantanamo is a historical embarrassment to America and its values, and it screams into your faces - you hypocrites"

December, 2012: The U.S. Congress is poised to vote on the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). New Hampshires Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte saw his amendment passed by the Senate. It would prevent terrorist detainees from being transferred from Guantanamo to America, therefore killing President Obama's plans to close the prison.

President Obama has threatened to veto the 2013 NDAA unless the amendment is removed.

You can help. If you believe we hurt ourselves by keeping Guantanamo open, if you believe Guantanamo is an effective terrorist recruiting tool for Al Qaeda and its affiliates, you can help:

Call Senator Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at 1.202.224.6221 and tell him  to ensure that the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) does NOT include a ban on the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. mainland or restrictions on transfer of detainees to other countries. And please tell him why you feel this way.
 
Levin is chair of a National committee so you can call him even though you don't live in his home state of  Michigan. Of course you can also call your own Senators and Representative and let them know how your feel.
 
AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT:
 
2) Call the White House comment line at 1.202.456.1111, and tell him you support a veto of the NDAA if it bans or restricts the transfer of prisoners out of Guantanamo to the U.S.  A veto is a big deal. Please don't think he doesn't want your support on this issue.

call Senator Levin: Help close Guantanamo

Congress is on the verge of passing a permanent ban on the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the US, even for trial.

This would be a huge setback for closing the prison--and for human rights in the U.S. Please take action as soon as possible--today or tomorrow: 1) Call Senator Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at 1.202.224.6221

Here's the Amnesty International suggestion for content of your call:

"I urge Senator Levin, as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to ensure that the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) does NOT include a ban on the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. mainland or restrictions on transfer of detainees to other countries. I support closure of the prison and human rights for all people. Thank you."

Clarity on Guantanamo

The New York Times published a wonderful letter today:

No Justice at Guantánamo

You correctly call on President Obama to fulfill his pledge on his second day in office to “Close Guantánamo Prison” (editorial, Nov. 26). I stood behind President Obama in the Oval Office when he signed the executive order to do so. And as the Navy judge advocate general at the Pentagon on 9/11, I want justice. But Guantánamo has not provided that justice and has not made us safer.

The military commission system at Guantánamo is a make-it-up-as-you-go system, unlike the proven federal court system. I attended the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed at Guantánamo earlier this year, and the court is still grappling with basic questions like whether the Constitution applies.

Guantánamo remains a recruiting tool for terrorists and will remain so until that prison is shuttered. President Obama must fulfill his pledge to me, the American people and those who look to us to lead, and he should veto any further attempts to restrict his ability to do so.

DONALD J. GUTER

Houston, Nov. 27, 2012

Close Guantanamo Prison and Weaken Al Qaeda

Close Guantanamo Prison and Weaken Al Qaeda
November 27, 2012 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

Today's NYTimes editorial (Close Guantanamo Prison) makes a good case for the Rule of Law aspects involved in the very existence of Guantanamo. It  also refers to President Obama's concern that closing Guantanamo would make him look 'soft on terrorism.' The opposite is true.

Guantanamo is a boon to Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations that seek to justify thier violent behaviour with reference to the injustice inherent in the prison.

Ayman Al-Zawahiri refers to Guantanamo often. Osama bin Laden did the same. Their literature is replete with references.

Their claims about Guantanamo are often false, but they were originally written in Arabic and disseminated to Muslims around the world. We cannot ignore the kernels of truth that lie within these propaganda statements of Al Qaeda:

• the U.N. ignores the way prisoners are treated there, without "human rights-in fact, how about just even animal rights?!"
• Guantanamo prisoners are sent to "Egypt and Jordan, where they are tortured"
• to the prisoners they write, "We have not forgotten you...we will continue to deliver blows to America...until we shatter your shackles."
• [America] "your response to terrorism to is issue harsher laws. What happens in Guantanamo is a historical embarrassment to America and its values"
• They write about prisoners being tortured with acid and electric drills and then, "Read...the humanitarian reports that enumerate the horrors [committed] in the Abu Ghraid, Guantanamo, and Baghram prisons"
• "O Allah! Give comfort to our brothers held hostage in the tyrants' prisons, in America, Guantanamo"

The recruitment of new members of terrorist organizations requires a strong denunciation of 'the enemy' and its actions and morality. Guantanamo Prison give Al Qaeda a powerful weapon and should be dismantled as quickly as possible.

 

[Note: The translations of Al Qaeda's remarks are by Raymond Ibrahim.]