Bloomberg reports that two Guantanamo detainees, suspected associates of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, have been charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes:
Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul, a Yemeni, and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, of Sudan, were charged with conspiring with bin Laden to murder, destroy property and commit terrorism, according to a statement posted today on the Defense Department's Web site."Al Bahlul and al Qosi are presumed innocent of any criminal charges unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at a military commission," the Pentagon statement said.
Al Bahlul allegedly made videotapes glorifying the murder of Americans to help recruit and motivate terrorists, and also served as a bodyguard to bin Laden. Al Qosi is also alleged to be a bodyguard for bin Laden and is accused of being a "key" al- Qaeda accountant and weapons smuggler. He is alleged to be a longtime friend of bin Laden, the statement said.
The Government has declared that, because they did not comply with the rules of war as contained in the Geneva Conventions, the Guantanamo detainees are not entitled to be treated as prisoners of war. The U.S. has been criticized for holding the detainees without bringing charges.
According to the New York Times, White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales, said that critics of the detentions at Guantanamo were ill-informed:
Mr. Gonzales, in a speech to a meeting of the American Bar Association, said that the critics failed to understand that the detentions should not be viewed as a civilian law-enforcement situation in which people are entitled to be charged and tried or released. Under the laws of war, he said, they can be detained "and they need not be guilty of anything."
Now that two alleged evil doers have been charged the U.S. will suffer additional criticism for continuing to detain the other 600 without charges. It's time for those critics to admit we are at war.
Venomous Kate is surprised that the death penalty will not be sought for these alleged evil doers. On NPR's All Things Considered it was reported that the death penalty is not being sought against these two detainee because: "The first few defendants would not be considered major players in part because the government wants to see how the tribunals go."
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