Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

Attorney General Holder announced on Monday that Guantanamo Bay prisoners would be prosecuted before a military commission rather than in civilian court. The New York Times called it “a significant moment of capitulation in the Obama administration.” Not only is it a defeat to reverse the flagrant disregard for law and human rights instigated by the Bush administration, but it is the abandonment of your vow to close Guantanamo and repair the stained image of the United States, one more example of your unwillingness to do the job you were hired to do. Once again you have failed to educate the American public so they can do what’s needed to resist the political pressure of easy answers and demagoguery and do the right thing for the country and for democracy. Why do you not fight for what’s right, Mr. President? It’s as though you don’t understand your job. A good speech every once in a while is not all that’s required. These are turbulent times, you should be out there with your bully pulpit every day fighting for what you know is right. You know civilian trials for terrorists work. Khalfan Ghailani was tried and convicted by a jury without incident in a New York courtroom in 2010 for the 1988 embassy attacks in Africa. Sentenced to life in prison. But critics claim that civilian trials are too uncertain because Ghailani was acquitted of more than 280 charges. And you did nothing to counter that misperception. Instead, you capitulate to the hard-liners and fear-mongers who want the certainty of conviction by a military tribunal, no less than a kangaroo court, a mockery of justice. But why do I still get outraged? It’s the same old story with Bradley Manning. Still locked up in solitary confinement under the harshest conditions – Prevention of Injury – that deprives him of sleep, exercise, contact with the outside world. Eleven months without a trial or pre-trial hearing. Just like your new policy on Guantanamo – “those deemed too dangerous to be released but too difficult to prosecute will be held without trial indefinitely.” Guantanamo Bay, military tribunals, suspension of habeas corpus, Bradley Manning. Erosion of justice, freedom and democracy. And the irony of your announcement to run again in 2012 coinciding with Holder’s announcement to reinstate military tribunals is just too cynical for words. Your core value is neither justice nor democracy nor the welfare of the country and its citizens, but rather, to remaining in power. Shame!