Opening A New Front In The War On Law & Other News On The Bush Torture Regime

The Bush administration’s refusal to follow the rule of law on a wide range of issues is by now monumental, but it nevertheless is shocking that despite three Supreme Court rulings striking down key aspects of its extralegal system for detainees at Guantánamo Bay, it continues to argue that it’s all a big misunderstanding.

The push-back is part of a larger strategy for George Bush, a man equal parts arrogant and cowardly: Major decisions, whether they concern Iraq, Afghanistan or the Rumsfeld Gulag, will be dumped in the lap of Barack Obama, who with every passing day seems more likely to be the next president.

When the Supreme Court ruled in June that Guantánamo detainees had a right to challenge their six-plus year detentions in federal court, the justices said that these prisoners should have their cases heard quickly because “the costs of delay can no longer be borne by those who are held in custody.”

But although most of the 255 detainees have filed habeas corpus lawsuits and the White House initially said in response to the ruling that Guantánamo would in all likelihood be closed, not one of the cases has been resolved. The administration continues to fight back over a range of issues — from whether federal courts have jurisdiction (they do) to what evidence constitutes proof that detentions should continue (a good deal more than prosecutors typically have been able to marshal) — and there is no longer talk of closing the detainee facility at the Navy base in Cuba.

Please click here to read more at Kiko’s House and here for an index with links to other torture-related posts.