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Every Soldier Has a Story You Don't Want to Hear

Submitted by davidswanson on March 12, 2010 - 3:03pm

By David Swanson

Would the United States military lie about how four Marines were killed? Would abuse continue at Abu Ghraib after the scandal exploded? Any soldier you talk to has a story you may not want to hear. I recently had occasion to speak with two that were particularly troubling.

Part I: Snipers Dead in Ramadi:

Here's a military report from August 2006 on how four Marines died in Iraq in 2004. Christian Lowe, a Marine Corps Times staff writer, tells us:

"It was supposed to be a mission like many they had done in Iraq. Ride the Humvees to a position at a building abutting a busy street in Ramadi. Relieve the four Marines on the roof there. . . .

Dear Eric Holder: Try Accused Criminals in Courts of Law

Submitted by davidswanson on March 11, 2010 - 1:31pm

http://lawsnotmen.org/node/23

The Robert Jackson Steering Committee, a group of lawyers and journalists founded to uphold the principles of the Nuremberg Trials, is urging the Department of Justice to proceed with trying Khalil Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and other suspected 9/11 terrorists in federal criminal court, and not in military commissions.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Committee enumerates several substantial problems with military commissions:

Yoo and Jefferson

Submitted by davidswanson on March 5, 2010 - 2:10am

By David Swanson

As John Yoo's visit to Mr. Jefferson's university here in Charlottesville approaches, one is tempted to ask the same question people around here ask about everything: WWJD? What would Jefferson do?

Of course, it's almost taboo among the most serious peace and justice advocates to cite positive precedents from Jefferson, because he was a slave owner. But Jefferson's views on the structure of a government don't actually become less admirable (or more) when we remember the horrors he inflicted on the people at Monticello.

Liveblog of Leahy Hearing on Yoo and Bybee and Margolis Without Yoo or Bybee or Margolis

Submitted by davidswanson on February 26, 2010 - 11:01am

Ongoing here.

Why Leahy Is Afraid to Subpoena Yoo

Submitted by davidswanson on February 25, 2010 - 9:26am

By David Swanson

We're about to witness the pretense of war lawyer hearings without the war lawyers (commonly known as torture lawyers by those willing to ignore their role in "legalizing" aggressive war).  This may highlight for many observers the little-known fact that Congress no longer has the power of subpoena.

During 2007-2008 Democratic congressional committees subpoenaed dozens of Bush officials, who simply refused to comply.  Although any committee has the undisputed power to use the Capitol Police to enforce its subpoenas, none did.  They asked the Bush Justice Department to do it.  They sued the Bush Justice Department in court.  But, with the exception of a weird deal for partial and secret compliance by Karl Rove in 2009, not a single one of the scofflaws has been compelled to show up.

Lawyers and Journalists' Group Sees No End in Sight to the Controversy over Bush "Torture Lawyers"

Submitted by davidswanson on February 23, 2010 - 2:32pm

http://lawsnotmen.org

    The Justice Robert Jackson Steering Committee, a group of lawyers, journalists and advocates formed in the fall of 2008 to pursue the prosecution of top Bush administration officials for alleged war crimes while in office, is both greatly concerned and guardedly hopeful by the recent release of 2 different assessments from inside the Department of Justice on whether John Yoo and Jay Bybee, the lawyers who crafted "torture memos" inside the Bush administration's Office of Legal Counsel, engaged in professional misconduct.

Yoo, Bybee, and Disinformation

Submitted by davidswanson on February 20, 2010 - 11:06pm

By David Swanson

Everything you're reading about torture lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee getting off the hook is wrong. They are not torture lawyers, they are not off the hook, there never was any hook, they may not be lawyers for long, impeachment and indictment are on the agenda, and you have a role to play.