Zeno Swijtink
08-10-2008, 02:14 AM
Odd Hamdan trial raises disturbing questions (https://www.kansascity.com/340/story/741045.html)
The Associated Press
The curious trial of Osama bin Laden’s driver raises still more doubts about the Bush administration’s handling of terrorism-related cases.
Bush personally approved the idea of sending the driver, Salim Hamdan, to trial under the controversial military commission system that gives big advantages to the prosecution.
The prosecution then portrayed Hamdan as a terrorist conspirator, a “hardened al-Qaida member” who should be locked away for decades. This case was put at the head of the line of commission trials, and prosecutors apparently considered their case against him to be a strong one.
But the military judge and jury clearly disagreed. They found Hamdan not guilty of the conspiracy charge, and gave him such a short sentence on another charge that he could be set free in a matter of months.
The judge’s sympathetic attitude towards Hamdan at the end of the proceedings hardly supports the notion of him being a dangerous killer.
So it appears that the prosecutors focused on a mere underling in the al-Qaida organization. It has been a costly exercise for the American taxpayer; the case has dragged on for years, at one point making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
One obvious question is why the government didn’t go after a more significant target in launching the war crimes trials. Another question is whether the prosecution got lazy in evaluating its case against Hamdan.
It has been suggested that this trial at least demonstrates that the commission system is fair.
Unfortunately, though, the White House has left open the possibility that it will keep Hamdan in prison indefinitely even after he has completed his prison sentence.
This sounds like some scenario out of a third-world dictatorship. It threatens to make a mockery out of the trial and those expected to follow.
Once the government has submitted a case to a judicial process created by the Bush administration itself, the president should at least agree to abide by the results.
The Associated Press
The curious trial of Osama bin Laden’s driver raises still more doubts about the Bush administration’s handling of terrorism-related cases.
Bush personally approved the idea of sending the driver, Salim Hamdan, to trial under the controversial military commission system that gives big advantages to the prosecution.
The prosecution then portrayed Hamdan as a terrorist conspirator, a “hardened al-Qaida member” who should be locked away for decades. This case was put at the head of the line of commission trials, and prosecutors apparently considered their case against him to be a strong one.
But the military judge and jury clearly disagreed. They found Hamdan not guilty of the conspiracy charge, and gave him such a short sentence on another charge that he could be set free in a matter of months.
The judge’s sympathetic attitude towards Hamdan at the end of the proceedings hardly supports the notion of him being a dangerous killer.
So it appears that the prosecutors focused on a mere underling in the al-Qaida organization. It has been a costly exercise for the American taxpayer; the case has dragged on for years, at one point making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
One obvious question is why the government didn’t go after a more significant target in launching the war crimes trials. Another question is whether the prosecution got lazy in evaluating its case against Hamdan.
It has been suggested that this trial at least demonstrates that the commission system is fair.
Unfortunately, though, the White House has left open the possibility that it will keep Hamdan in prison indefinitely even after he has completed his prison sentence.
This sounds like some scenario out of a third-world dictatorship. It threatens to make a mockery out of the trial and those expected to follow.
Once the government has submitted a case to a judicial process created by the Bush administration itself, the president should at least agree to abide by the results.