Posted on 03/15/2009 7:38:28 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration stopped calling Guantanamo inmates "enemy combatants" on Friday and incorporated international law as its basis for holding the prisoners while it works to close the facility.
The U.S. Justice Department filed court papers outlining a further legal and linguistic shift from the anti-terrorism policies of Republican President George W. Bush, which drew worldwide condemnation as violations of human rights and international law.
"As we work toward developing a new policy to govern detainees, it is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our national security, is consistent with our values, and is governed by law," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Some human rights advocates said the shift by the new Democratic president did not go far enough in dealing with hundreds of suspected Islamist militants held, most for years without trial, at a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"The government may have eliminated the term enemy combatant but it is still claiming the authority to detain people far beyond the traditional norms of humanitarian law," said attorney Devon Chaffee of the group Human Rights First.
The term "enemy combatant" was adopted by Bush after the September 11 attacks in 2001 to refer to prisoners held under military orders he issued to launch the war on terrorism. The wording became emblematic of his policies, along with razor wire and orange jumpsuits.
The policies were subject to numerous legal battles and Supreme Court rulings that rebuked Bush's administration.
The filing on Friday, in the cases of some 200 Guantanamo inmates seeking a court review of their detention, explains the standards of President Barack Obama's administration for holding terrorism suspects without court review.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
gosh, that’s refreshing!
let’s invite some over for dinner.
Fine. I guess the sitting president will treat them to a sit-down dinner that he did NOT have for the British PM.
The ultimate result of Obama’s changes to this country’s treatment of terrorism will be the smoldering ruins of the cities which formerly contained most of his constituents.
sarc/
Yeah they are no longer enemy combatants
they just have an alternative lifestyle
They are now referred to as “cabinet nominees”.
Only until a few seconds after their release.
Being this is the new world of Obama, I think we should call them “friends we haven’t made yet”.
Hmmmm What to call them?
-Obama’s pals.
-Friends of Obama.
-Displaced democrats.
-Disciples of Obama.
The possibilities are endless.
From the Minister of Justice Eric Holder”:
You may now call those held illegally at Guantanamo either “possible bad guys” or “innocent tourists who like to visit Taliban and Al Qaeda recreational retreats.”
You will, or else!
Signed: Herr Holder
Ha that’s good. Or “misguided young men.”
Yeah. They're now referred to as "naughty little boys."
A few stern words and off to bed with no supper.
I'm POSITIVE they'll be "good little boys" by tomorrow!
Then again, that might be too harsh...
- signed, Eric Holder
Will Hussein invite them all up to the WH for a nice Easter ham?
Putting it that way in that case.....
.
“Friends of Obama”
I like this one. We can call them FOOs for short.
Friends of Osama/Guests of Obama ???
How ‘bout we call them unidentified human remains number 10,231 of 4,000,000.
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