In The Blogs

Hamdan Guilty on One Count

Salim Hamdan, he who will always be detained, was found guilty of one charge today, providing material support for terrorism. Considering Hamdan never denied he was Osama bin Laden's driver, it's stunning that it took the United States government seven years to get this verdict. Here's an interesting point from Ken Gude, Associate Director of the International Rights and Responsibility Program at the Center for American Progress Action Fund:

The worst aspect of this whole episode is that the Bush administration has completely devalued the concept of a war criminal. War crimes should be reserved for the most serious offenses and war crimes trials are extraordinary. Charles Taylor is a war criminal. Radovan Karazdic is a war criminal. Salim Hamdan is a chauffer. He is clearly guilty of the crime of material support for terrorism. But now he has been elevated to the status of warrior, legitimizing al Qaeda terrorists' belief that they are waging a holy war against the United States and our allies.
We waited seven years to convict a low-level al Qaeda figure of a crime he never denied.

image
image
Get Mother Jones by Email - Free. Like what you're reading? Get the best of MoJo three times a week.
Comments
no profile pic for comment author

I can't recall any other time in history when chauffeuring has been a crime, especially when as in this case it seems the driver was a civilian. I guess air quote unlawful enemy combatants unquote are all civilians. So can we try Barbara for driving little W around?

Post a comment
Alternately, you may login to or register an account
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <ul> <ol> <li> <blockquote> <img>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options


Jail.org - Inmate Search
Criminal records, instant public records & people search & current court records. www.jail.org

U.S. Public Records Search
Search County & State Court Records, Criminal records, Vital and Adoption Records www.PublicRecordsInfo.com

Records.com - People Search
Public Records and Background Checks. Instantly Search Criminal Records, Addresses and Court Records www.Records.com

Court Records & County Records
Find Instant Public Records, Criminal Records as Well as County Property Records Search. www.PublicRecordsIndex.com

Mother Jones Podcast
Get in on the conversation! We talk about culture, politics, the environment, the economy and more. Listen now!

TalkBackTees.com
A treasure trove of liberal wit, wisdom and quotations, from ancient to modern, on colorful, cotton tees.

Support Independent Artists
Amazing art, crafts, apparel, paper-goods and more. A carefully curated selection of sundries since 1999.

FREE CONNECTIONS FOR GREEN SINGLES
Meet progressive singles in the environmental, vegetarian & animal rights community who share your values