Secret Suggestion Made in Guantanamo Case

AP ^ | oct 7 2003

[george wythe]

WASHINGTON (AP)--An Air Force officer has made a secret recommendation of what charges should be pursued against a translator accused of espionage at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terrorist suspects, the translator's lawyer said Tuesday.

The report from Col. Anne Burman suggests to Air Force officials which of the 32 charges against Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi should go to trial. Air Force generals will decide whether al-Halabi will face a court-martial on the espionage and other charges--and whether military prosecutors can seek the death penalty if al-Halabi is convicted of the most serious counts.

Burman's entire report is classified, said Maj. James Key III, one of al-Halabi's appointed military lawyers. Key said keeping such a report secret is unusual in the military justice system. Al-Halabi's defense team will challenge the secrecy, Key said.

``It looks like it's going to be a fight from here until the end to keep this as an open process,'' Key said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

An Air Force spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Al-Halabi, who worked for about nine months as an Arabic translator at the prison camp, was arrested in July. He's accused of gathering secret information about the prison camp and collecting more than 180 messages from prisoners with plans to give those secrets to Syria and an unidentified enemy.

Al-Halabi is the only one of three men arrested in an espionage probe at Guantanamo Bay to be charged in military court. A Muslim Army chaplain, Capt. Yousef Yee, is being held without charge after being arrested last month. Last week, federal agents arrested a civilian translator at the base, Ahmed F. Mehalba, when they allegedly found secret documents from the camp on a compact disc Mehalba was carrying back to the United States from Egypt.

[swarthyguy]

>>>Key said keeping such a report secret is unusual in the military justice system.

Must be an explosive one.

Any confluence with Dubya's new hard line on Syria and lack of condemnation of the Israeli attacks.

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[livius]

I read in the NY Times today that officials are reviewing all of the translations done by these folks - and in fact, may review all translations done at Gitmo - to see if there was wilfull mistranslation of the interrogations, conversations, etc. They are also looking for any patterns in these mis-translations.

[teeples]

Why do we EVEN have them captive? Why is our hard earned tax dollars being used to house these human debris? Here is my secret suggestion: time to terminate them.

[Poohbah]

Why do we EVEN have them captive?

Because dead men tell no tales, but prisoners can be made downright talkative if sufficient motivation is applied.

[LS]

Ever watch the Oliver Reed/Raquel Welch version of the "Three Musketeers," where the four musketeers all serve as the judge and jury for "Milady?"

"Death."

"Death."

"Death."

"Aye, Death!"

[Leatherneck_MT]

" Why do we EVEN have them captive? Why is our hard earned tax dollars being used to house these human debris? Here is my secret suggestion: time to terminate them."

Let's be specific.. Terminate them with a cheap .22 pistol shot behind the ear.

I don't want to waste anymore money on these scum than what's already been wasted.

[george wythe]

We need more Americans who speak Arabic.

When I went into the construction business, I learned Spanish to understand the conversations among workers. I usually don't have to communicate directly with workers, since I mostly talk to the foremen and superintendents about what I saw in the field during my daily walks.

Nevertheless, I would feel handicapped walking a high-rise condo tower, listening to people talk a language I don't understand.

Arabic is not that difficult, especially spoken Arabic. Just because the Arabic uses a different alphabet should not intimidate Americans.

Btw, my Spanish is not the King's Spanish, but I undertand enough to know when someone is translating BS to me from a Spanish-speaking worker or subcontractor.

In the same manner, the American officer conducting the Gitmo interviews should know enough Arabic to spot red flags from flaky translators, in my humble opinion.

[teeples]

Exactly!

[teeples]

Okay...make them talk, THEN terminate the human debris.

[Poohbah]

No objection.

Maybe they can test anthrax cures. (c8

[livius]

Yes, I agree, they should certainly have some sort of monitoring or control system, even if the observer is not a perfect native speaker. The translation can always be checked and rechecked later, if the monitor doesn't feel it adds up.

It sounds as if they just let these translators and the chaplain wander about chatting at will, although that would seem like a very strange thing to permit. Unless, perhaps, our government was gathering information on them/from them without their knowledge...

[Lokibob]

"The report from Col. Anne Burman suggests to Air Force officials which of the 32 charges against Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi should go to trial."

 

Read everything with care.  The report they are talking about is called an "Article 32" hearing where the military determines what possible charges will be brought.  When I read 32 charges, flags go up.  It COULD be 32 charges, but I suspect the reporter screwed up.

[george wythe]

It COULD be 32 charges, but I suspect the reporter screwed up.

You're probably right.

[af_vet_1981]

We need more Americans who speak Arabic and who are not overly sympathetic to Islamic states and corrupt regimes. They like to seduce the translators, you know ?

[aristeides]

The Peril of Perfidious Translators: A Clintonian problem.:

Arab Christians have been finding the doors of translation employment barely ajar to them because of their supposed inadequate understanding of Islam.

Can you believe this?

[Shermy]

INteresting. And the link to a Fisk article - is the "message" the govt. believed Fisk's Lebanese comment? How does Fisk know? Strange.

[Travis McGee]

Tu hablas la verdad, amigo.

[KC_for_Freedom]

de veras, and BTW, there are many in Israel who speak english, arabic, and hebrew.
But I suspect we don't use this source because there are secrets we wish to keep from Israel. Time to drop this pretense, Mossad approaches (so I've heard) could also help with the free flow of information.