> Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Rights to remember > Oct 30th 2003 | NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT > >From The Economist print edition > > Harold Hongju Koh is professor of international > law at Yale Law School, and was assistant secretary > of state for human rights in the Clinton > administration. This is extracted from the 2003 John > Galway Foster lecture delivered in London on October > 21st. <massive snippage>
"...People living outside America sometimes suggest that the reason is rooted in the American national culture of unilateralism, parochialism and an obsession with power. With respect, let me urge you to see it differently. The Bush doctrine, I believe, is less a broad manifestation of American national character than of short-sighted decisions made by a particularly extreme American administration..." >Contrast, for example, the treatment of Mr Hamdi, from >Louisiana but of Saudi Arabian ancestry, with that of >John Walker Lindh, the famous "American Taliban", who >is a white American from a comfortable family in the >San Francisco Bay area. Both are American citizens; >both were captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 by the >Northern Alliance; both were handed over to American >forces, who eventually brought them to the United >States. But federal prosecutors brought criminal >charges against Mr Lindh, who got an expensive lawyer >and eventually plea-bargained to a prison term. >Meanwhile, Mr Hamdi has remained in incommunicado >detention, without a lawyer, in a South Carolina >military brig for the past 16 months... and Rob posted: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20028-2003Nov28?language=printer <much snippage> "...Jailed the night of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the Algerian air force lieutenant with an expired visa has spent the past 26 months in federal prisons, much of that time in solitary confinement -- even though the FBI formally concluded in November 2001 that he had no connection to terrorism.... "...On Nov. 15, 2001, the FBI cleared Benatta of any connection to terrorism. In a document quoted in Schroeder's ruling, the FBI wrote: "Given the negative searches and after consultation . . . with FBI General Counsel Hyon Kim and INS prosecuting attorney Ann Gannon, the writer requests BENATTA be cleared of his involvement in the captioned investigation." Battle agreed last month that "the FBI's 9/11-related interest in Mr. Benatta ended" on Nov. 15, 2001. "But no one told Benatta. He remained locked in solitary confinement for another five months..." While the Algerian man is perhaps guilty of overstaying his visa (and with torture/death probably awaiting him back in Algeria, according to the article, that is understandable), he was *not* guilty of terrorism per *the FBI* -- yet proper legal procedure - *US law* -- was not followed. It is good that these cases are coming to light now; I hope our collective response to these excesses proves to the rest of the world that Americans, as a people, are not 'parochial and obsessed with power.' How we handle such flouting of our own laws may be key to the eventual 'tipping of the scale' by the mostly-still-silent non-Western moderates. Debbi Lancing Boils Maru __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
