Even though I feel as though I've heard it all before, I'm still shocked and angered to hear one more official detail the extent to which executive power was abused.
This time it is Lawrence B. Wilkerson, a Republican who was a top aide to then Secretary of State Colin Powell. He describes in the Seattle P-I, that we have knowingly held innocent men in the prison for years in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Can you imagine being in prison on a faraway continent for seven years simply because an invading army had little knowledge of your people and culture and couldn't tell the good guys from the bad guys? According to Wilkerson, when it became apparent that an innocent man was being held with real terrorists:
"It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in
Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something
of importance."
He contends that Dick Cheney and then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney refused to release prisoners that they knew were innocent because it would have been an embarassment and "a black mark on their leadership."
Wilkerson is speaking up this week because Cheney has been mouthing off on cable news - telling viewers that the Obama administration is making America more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
"I'm very concerned about the kinds of things Cheney is saying to make it seem
Obama is a danger to this republic," Wilkerson said. "To have a former vice
president fearmongering like this is really, really dangerous."
And it is scary to me that there are still people in this country that will listen to Cheney and believe him, even though his arrogance and self-righteousness in conducting the war on terror squandered all of the good will the world had for us in the days and weeks following the 9/11 attacks.
Ex-Bush admin official: Many at Gitmo are innocent
6 comments:
i think that what cheney is doing is wrong. that he shouldn't be keeping innocent people locked up because of what others may think when they let them out...it's wrong to keep the innocents locked up anyways...he may think he's right for keeping them locked up so it doesn't make us look weak if we let them out...but also saying things about obama isn't nice either even though he think he's doing a right thing...he should just listen to what obama wants to do and let them go...
N.N
Cheney really needs to stop badmouthing Obama. Just because the administration he was in did a terrible job at running the country doesn't mean he has to make the Obama administration look bad. It's so wrong what they did, detaining the hundreds of innocent people for years, it would have been a lot more noble if the Bush administration had just released them and apologized, instead of ignoring the problem. I feel like Obama is taking our nation in a new direction, a more just and civil direction, and is restoring America's moral credibility.
-Dylan Dislers
"It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something
of importance"......This comment Aggravates me because its not right. Holding an innocent person with no evidence hostage for a long period of time plus torture is as low as it gets, and so what does that mean when an ex-Bush admin thinks the opposite? In my opinion Cheney is wrong for keeping someone innocent in such a horrid place and disrespecting the Obama adminastration with bringing lies such as the administration making America more vulnerable to a terrorist attack. He has no proven facts towards this problem and so he has no right. I disagree with Cheney in this article.
Junior Jack
I'm glad these comments aggravate you. They should. We are a nation of laws, and it is outrageous for Dick Cheney or anyone else to assert that they can brush them off because they think what they are doing is right. This is the argument that tyrants always use.
I think the idea of holding an innocent person prisoner is bad, but holding them offshore with some of the most dangerous people the world has ever seen? That’s terrible. When I saw the quote "It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in
Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something
of importance", it mad me think about those innocent men and women and made me think of what it would feel like to be in their shoes. To have done absolutely nothing wrong and be taken away from your friends and families. Think of the families of these people who wonder about the condition of their loved ones every day. I don’t see how this is even legal but it sure isn’t fair. Dick Cheney willingly admits that he has kept innocent people imprisoned for years because his personal record is at stake? To me that shows extreme selfishness and when you are in that high of a position you can’t afford to behave that way. Personally, I think Cheney and his comrades should be sent to Guantanamo Bay themselves to serve time there and get a taste of their own medicine.
Current Events #2 *MAKE UP*
Keegan Malmanger
I think that keeping innocent people locked up is terrible. he is very wrong for locking the up. Chenney wasted years of innocent peoples lives. He also needs to stop talking bad about Obama. i think they should have released these people and aploegized instead of ignoring the problem. i disagree with Cheney very much. having an innocent person hostage is not right it is ridiolous. he not only ruins there lives but the people close to the innocent people such as family.
Spencer Truong
Period 5
EXTRA CREDIT
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