AP Gets Shocking New Report on Gitmo

SAN JUAN The U.S. military called no witnesses, withheld evidence from detainees and usually reached a decision within a day as it determined that hundreds of men detained at Guantanamo Bay were "enemy combatants," according to a new report.

The analysis of transcripts and records by two lawyers for Guantanamo detainees, aided by more than two dozen law students, found that hearings that determined whether a prisoner should remain in custody gave the accused little opportunity to contest allegations against him.

"These were not hearings. These were shams," said Mark Denbeaux, an attorney and Seton Hall University law professor who along with his son, Joshua, is the author of the report. They provided an advance copy of the report to The Associated Press late Thursday and planned to release it Friday on the Internet.

Their report, based on an analysis of records of military hearings of 393 detainees, comes as the U.S. government seeks to severely restrict detainee access to civilian courts, arguing that the Combatant Status Review Tribunals should be their main legal recourse.

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Dem judiciary leader seeks torture documents

GUANTANAMO BAY Pentagon wants to build mini-city for terror trials

The Pentagon wants to build a compound costing up to $125 million for upcoming war crimes trials at Guantánamo. The proposal has yet to be presented to Congress, which must OK funding.

MIAMI HERALD STAFF

* Document Pentagon’s proposal

The Pentagon plans to build a military commissions compound at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, costing up to $125 million, a major undertaking meant to accommodate up to 1,200 people for the first U.S. war crimes trials since World War II, The Miami Herald learned Thursday.

...On paper, the idea resembles a mini-city, with housing, dining, meeting and courtroom space for those involved in the trials -- plus, Whitman said, a high-security space for top-secret and other classified materials. The compound would cost from $75 million to $125 million and include a courthouse with two courtrooms, conference space, a closed-circuit video transmission center and a 100-car motor pool.

Asked why it would require housing for 800 to 1,200 personnel and a dining facility for up to 800 people, Whitman said the idea is to hold multiple trials -- and house ``any number of people -- legal and administrative personnel, media, . . . security . . . attorneys.''...

CONGRESS OK NEEDED

Whitman said the Pentagon would likely seek authorization and funding from the current, lame-duck Congress, which is still controlled by the Republicans.

No specific contractor is favored for the project, he said, adding the plan was crafted 'being very respectful of taxpayers' dollars.''

...To anybody it would beg questions: . . . `What are we doing here? Why are we doing it this way? What is the requirement? Why is it going to cost that much?' These are routine oversight questions and we will do this,'' Sutey said.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court shut down the administration's first effort to stage the commissions, declaring the formula unconstitutional. Now, armed with a new Military Commissions Act approved by Congress, administration officials are rewriting rules for the trials. They could resume in early 2007 with suspectedterrorists being charged, according to the chief prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis.

Earlier efforts to stage the trials focused on alleged al Qaeda conspirators, among them Yemeni captive Salim Ahmed Hamdan, whose defense attorney, a Navy officer, challenged the formula in the civilian courts....
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Has President Bush gone mad. What is this country trying to prove?

In theory this sounds like a good idea for security purposes. But why would we spend 75 to 125 million build a facility to house suspected international criminals, additional security personnel, and media when that money could be better utilized on programs to help citizens here at home. The trials should be conducted in the US. Those individuals which pose the greatest threat can be present in the court room via video conference so that they do not have to be moved from their secured surrondings. We need more creative thinkers in government to keep our budget down not bureacrats that just want to throw our money out of the window.

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DO THE MATH....125,000,000 FOR 1200 CRIMINALS FOR A BUILDING TO PROSECUTE?????? This does not even include court costs, trial lawyer fees, transportation, etc. Definitely PORK BARREL politics at its finest.
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http://www.legitgov.org/
The Pentagon wants to build a compound costing up to $125 million for upcoming military trials at Guantánamo. 17 Nov 2006 The Pentagon plans to build a military commissions compound at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, costing up to $125 million, a major undertaking meant to accommodate up to 1,200 people for the first U.S. war crimes trials since World War II, The Miami Herald learned Thursday. When will the treason trials begin for Bush, Cheney Halliburton and Rumsfeld?

Head of Military Commissions Quits 15 Nov 2006 As the Bush administration gears up for another try at prosecuting suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, it’ll have to proceed without the retired Army major general who’s run the effort since 2004.

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