Wednesday
Jan212009
The First Act: Obama Orders Suspension of Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 7:06
News is just coming through that President Obama has ordered the suspension of all military commissions cases for 120 days at Guantanamo Bay. Currently there are 21 detainees, out of the more than 250 still held, facing prosecutions on charges related to the 9-11 attacks and the "War on Terror".
This is a temporary suspension of the process, not a halt and definitely not a closure of Camp X-Ray. Still, military sources at the prison are telling Al Jazeera that they are "unhappy" with the decision. Further hearings in the case of five men accused of plotting the 9-11 attacks, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, were to take place today.
CNN and Fox have not picked up on this story, beyond brief references, so far; however, the difficulties of closing Camp X-Ray have just been reviewed by the BBC radio programme Today.
This is a temporary suspension of the process, not a halt and definitely not a closure of Camp X-Ray. Still, military sources at the prison are telling Al Jazeera that they are "unhappy" with the decision. Further hearings in the case of five men accused of plotting the 9-11 attacks, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, were to take place today.
CNN and Fox have not picked up on this story, beyond brief references, so far; however, the difficulties of closing Camp X-Ray have just been reviewed by the BBC radio programme Today.
tagged Al Jazeera, BBC, Barack Obama, CNN, Camp X-Ray, Fox, Guantanamo Bay, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in US Politics, War On Terror
Al Jazeera, BBC, Barack Obama, CNN, Camp X-Ray, Fox, Guantanamo Bay, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in US Politics, War On Terror
Reader Comments (1)
small step, none the less a very important step.