Army Lawyer Says Military Tribunals "Rubber Stamped Detentions"

[babylonsister]

Bush administration criticized on prisoner treatment
Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:43PM EDT


By Susan Cornwell and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration was criticized on Thursday for its treatment of detainees in the war on terrorism, with a military officer saying U.S. policies enabled it to "detain anyone it pleases" and lawmakers calling for an end to secret CIA prisons.

Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, an Army reservist and lawyer who served on one of the tribunals for prisoners at Guantanamo, told the House Armed Services Committee the existing system of hearing prisoner appeals simply "rubber stamped detentions."

He denounced the Guantanamo tribunals as "nothing more than an effort by the (U.S.) executive to ... detain anyone it pleases in the war against terror."

Abraham, who has years of experience as a military intelligence officer, worked for several months in 2004 and 2005 in the Pentagon unit that reviewed cases of Guantanamo captives.

Recalling a policeman's line from the movie "Casablanca" -- "round up the usual suspects" -- Abraham told lawmakers: "Today, they would be at Guantanamo."

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http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2619813420070726