Omar Khadr: U.S Credibility At Stake ?

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Terror charges reinstated against Khadr

Sep 24, 2007 09:08 PM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND THE CANADIAN PRESS

WASHINGTON – A U.S. military appeals court sided with the Pentagon today, overruling a judge who threw out terrorism charges against Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr.

The U.S. Court of Military Commission Review ruled a military court set up by the U.S. administration was the proper venue for deciding whether Khadr is an "unlawful enemy combatant" and trying him on terrorism charges.

The ruling reverses a military judge's June 4 ruling that the tribunal system created by Congress did not have authority to try detainees, unless they were first determined to be unlawful enemy combatants.

That ruling threatened to force the Pentagon to start over with tribunals for a number of detainees. Pentagon officials argued the June 4 ruling was just a matter of semantics and insufficient to dismiss the case.

Monday's decision, the first ever by the newly formed appeals court, agreed.

The appeals judges, who are military officers, said the trial judge "erred in ruling he lacked authority...to determine whether Mr. Khadr is an `unlawful enemy combatant' for purposes of establishing the military commission's initial jurisdiction to try him."

The court battle over the Khadr case represents the latest problem for the U.S. administration's military commissions system, which exists outside the traditional military and civilian rules of justice. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military commissions violates U.S. and international law.

The White House persuaded the then-Republican-controlled Congress to weigh in with a law to legitimize the commissions. That law now faces court challenges.

Defence lawyers contend the "unlawful" designation is a critical element of guilt or innocence in what is a fundamentally flawed military tribunal system.

In August, they questioned the legitimacy of the court itself, saying officials didn't follow proper procedures when they set it up.

"This court was established on the fly,"' said Lt.-Cmdr. William Kuebler, who noted one of the judges questioned whether it was acceptable that he was appointed by a Defence Department deputy, instead of Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

"More could not be at stake," Kuebler said.

"This is about the credibility of the United States."

The Pentagon said in response to Monday's decision: "We will proceed in the most expeditious manner to get military commission cases to trial."

"The timeline is up to the judge. He decides when we will be back in the courtroom."

"The court's ruling outlined what must be done to establish jurisdiction."

Khadr was captured when he was 15 and faces charges life in prison on of murder, conspiracy, spying and supporting terrorism counts. He is charged with tossing a grenade that killed one U.S. soldier and injured another in Afghanistan in 2002.

His trial would be the first full legal airing of the Guantanamo detainees, who include several "high-value" prisoners, such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 2001 terror attacks on the United States.

Eventually, the U.S. government hopes to prosecute about 80 detainees, most picked up on battlefields in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Other western countries have insisted their citizens be brought home from Guantanamo to face justice but Ottawa has refused to intervene on Khadr's behalf.

"We're relying on the Canadian people to pressure the Canadian government to do what's right," said Dennis Edney, an Edmonton lawyer who also represents Khadr.

The Canadian Bar Association demanded in August that Prime Minister Stephen Harper start negotiating with U.S. authorities to send Khadr home.

Dozens of Canadian academics, opposition MPs and former politicians filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.

[Basra--]

Megnuts

so Canada is a third world country??

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LoL@ megnuts

Yep. : )

[*jr]

If you have read my earlier article, you would not have taken the time to repost this. This was covered on my OP......

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jr

which thread was that?

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Mike,
I posted an entire article written by Prof. Cole: "Turning Ahmadinejad into public enemy No. 1".....have you read it?