FACTS ON TRYING TERROR SUSPECTS IN FEDERAL COURT & TRY KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED IN FED DISTRICT COURT from HRF 18NOV10

REP peter king r NY is a cowardly, loud-mouthed hypocrite. He is playing the fear and paranoia game for his own political gain, and he should be ashamed as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for casting doubt on the effectiveness of the U.S. justice system when his pronouncements have NO factual basis.....see the fact sheet on the federal court system trials of terrorist for the truth, and proof our justice system does work. From Human Rights First...

Watch Retired Generals and Admirals Speak Out: Tell President Obama: Bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other suspected terrorists to justice in federal district court Try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Federal District Court Yesterday, once again, a federal court convicted a terrorism suspect. A federal court in New York convicted Guantanamo detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, of plotting to blow up U.S. embassies in Africa. He will spend a minimum of 20 years – and likely much longer – in prison. And Americans can be proud of the fact that he was convicted according to law. This conviction adds to the federal criminal justice system's track record of success in international terrorism cases. The facts are clear: Since 9/11, our federal courts have convicted more than 400 terrorists. Military commissions have only convicted five, two of whom have already been released. We've been waiting for over nine years. It's about time that we bring 9/11 terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the rest of the Guantanamo detainees to face justice in federal court. It's time for President Obama to demonstrate leadership and move forward with trials, not bow to political opposition. Our justice system is strong and effective. We have the tools that we need to convict KSM and try the rest of the Guantanamo detainees. We need to use them. Tell President Obama: Bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other suspected terrorists to justice in federal district court. Many of our nations' retired generals and admirals have spoken out. Keeping terror suspects at Guantanamo and granting them military trials sends the wrong message. KSM isn't a warrior, he's a criminal. Let's try terrorism suspects where we try criminals: in civilian court. Sincerely, C. Dixon Osburn Human Rights First, 333 Seventh Avenue, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001-5004 www.humanrightsfirst.org Join us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter   FACT SHEET Trying Terror Suspects in Federal Courts  Federal civilian criminal courts have convicted 400 terrorists since 9/11.1 Military commissions have convicted only five.2 Federal court convictions include convictions resulting from investigations of terrorist acts and of criminal acts by those with an identified link to international terrorism.  55 federal district courts in 36 states have successfully convicted terrorists since 9/11. The 400 terrorist convictions were the result of trials in 55 different US district courts; 27 cases were in the Southern District of New York.3  Federal courts have more tools to try terrorists than military commissions. Federal courts, unlike military commissions, can try terrorists for offenses such as those involving fraud, immigration, firearms, and drugs. In addition, convictions for crimes of conspiracy and material support before a military commission rather than a federal court face a greater likelihood of being overturned on appeal because those crimes were not generally considered war crimes before the Military Commissions Act.  Federal prisons hold more than 300 convicted terrorists. None has ever escaped. 4 Of the 5 GTMO convicted detainees, only 3 remain in prison. The American Correctional Association said, “Corrections and law-enforcement professionals in the United States are second to none. We want to assure all Americans that the public will be safe from harm and that the terrorists will be properly and effectively detained -- whether in Cuba or in a single facility or multiple facilities across the United States.”5  Federal courts have repeatedly imposed stiff sentences on convicted terrorists. The Sentencing Guidelines, §3A1.4, provides for increased sentencing for defendants convicted of a crime that “involved, or was intended to promote, a federal crime of terrorism.” US courts have imposed severe sentences on convicted terrorists.6  Prosecuting terror suspects before military commissions makes them look like warriors rather than common criminals. Those who argue that terror suspects should be tried before military commissions because they do not deserve our regular courts miss the mark. As Judge William Young said when sentencing Shoe Bomber Richard Reid, “You’re no warrior…. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.”7 1 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/doj-releases-details-on-400-convicted.php; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/05/AR2010100505683.html 2 http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE50A2JR20090111, http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2008/10/27/an-empty-trial-at-guantanamo/, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iSnYtLdPe0aYIsxWJFTIO0hjBYjwD9GQFHCO0, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/26/world/la-fg-gitmo-plea-20101026 3 http://www.justice.gov/cjs/docs/terrorism-convictions-statistics.pdf 4 http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-ag-564.html 5 http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1385750.html 6 http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/pdf/090723-LS-in-pursuit-justice-09-update.pdf 7 Statement by Judge William Young, U.S. District Court on Sentencing of Shoe Bomber Richard Reid. FACT SHEET  Military commissions fail to meet U.S. constitutional and international law fair trial standards. While the newly constituted military commission rules provide some needed reforms, such as prohibiting the admission of evidence obtained by cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, some serious flaws remain. For instance, the bill:  Continues to permit the admission of coerced testimony obtained at the point of capture or during closely related active combat engagement.  Includes an overbroad definition of who can be tried before military commissions, one that extends trials in this forum to juveniles and those not even engaged in hostilities.  Permits defendants to be tried ex-post facto for conduct not considered to constitute a war crime at the time it was committed.  Miranda is an effective law enforcement tool that provides valuable information. FBI and local law enforcement know how to interrogate suspects. Though some decried their reading Miranda rights to the Christmas day bomber, interrogators obtained critical information after doing so. The Miranda requirement does not prevent intelligence professionals from interrogating prisoners, and recent court decisions have recognized exceptions to the Miranda requirement including the foreign law enforcement interrogations exception and the “public safety” exception to Miranda that would likely apply to statements made on the battlefield.8  Federal courts are expert at protecting classified information. The rules for military commissions governing classified information are modeled after the federal court rules. Military commission judges have little experience applying those rules, unlike federal court judges.  Our Constitution applies to citizens and foreigners alike in the U.S. criminal justice system. It is well-established in the Constitution and by Supreme Court precedent9 that, as James Madison said, “[I]t does not follow, because aliens are not parties to the Constitution…they have no rights to its protection…. [A]s they owe…a temporary obedience [to the Constitution], they are entitled in return to their protection….” 10 8 http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/pdf/090723-LS-in-pursuit-justice-09-update.pdf 9 See Boumediene v. Bush, 126 S. Ct. 2229, 2246 (2008); Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 369 (U.S. 1886). 10 James Madison, Mr. Madison’s Report on the Virginia Resolutions (1799)

 http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/pdf/Trying_Terror_Suspects_in_Federal_Court.pdf

Bush's Glib Waterboarding Admission Sparks Outrage 3JUN10

Here is the proof george w bush violated international law, committed war crimes and crimes against humanity and SHOULD BE PROSECUTED AS A WAR CRIMINAL!!!! bush and his entire cabal from his administration, including dick cheney and the neo-nazi war pigs from his state department and the pentagon need to face justice for their crimes. Sadly, as a nation, we no longer have the moral courage to hold our leaders accountable for real crimes. Clinton faced impeachment for receiving oral sex from someone other than his wife. bush sent thousands of American soldiers to their deaths, wounded tens of thousands more, killed over 1 million Iraqis and wasted hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on his illegal and immoral war in Iraq and puts all members of the American military at greatly increased risk for torture and walks free. Click the header for the article and bush's comments follow.

George W. Bush's casual acknowledgment Wednesday that he had Khalid Sheikh Mohammed waterboarded -- and would do it again -- has horrified some former military and intelligence officials who argue that the former president doesn't seem to understand the gravity of what he is admitting.
Waterboarding, a form of controlled drowning, is "unequivocably torture", said retired Brigadier General David R. Irvine, a former strategic intelligence officer who taught prisoner of war interrogation and military law for 18 years.
"As a nation, we have historically prosecuted it as such, going back to the time of the Spanish-American War," Irvine said. "Moreover, it cannot be demonstrated that any use of waterboarding by U.S. personnel in recent years has saved a single American life."
Irvine told the Huffington Post that Bush doesn't appreciate how much harm his countenancing of torture has done to his country.
"Yeah, we waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," Bush told a Grand Rapids audience Wednesday, of the self-professed 9/11 mastermind. "I'd do it again to save lives."
But, Irvine said: "When he decided to do it the first time, he launched the nation down a disastrous road, and we will continue to pay dearly for the damage his decision has caused.
"We are seen by the rest of the world as having abandoned our commitment to international law. We have forfeited enormous amounts of moral leadership as the world's sole remaining superpower. And it puts American troops in greater danger -- and unnecessary danger."

James P. Cullen, a retired brigadier general in the United States Army Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corps, told HuffPost that the net effect of Bush's remarks -- and former Vice President Cheney's before him -- is "to establish a precedent where it will be permissible to our enemies to use waterboarding on our servicemen in future wars.
Cheney famously once agreed with an interviewer that "a dunk in the water" was "no-brainer" if it saves lives.
"This is not the last war we're going to fight," Cullen said. "Americans not yet born are going to be prisoners of war in those conflicts. And our enemies are going to be able to point back to President Bush and Vice President Cheney saying that waterboarding is OK.
"It's just shocking to me how he can be so flip about something that is so serious," Cullen said.
Matthew Alexander, the pseudonymous former Air Force interrogator and author of "How To Break A Terrorist" e-mailed HuffPost that Bush's statement "is de facto approval of the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of American soldiers in Iraq who were killed by foreign fighters that Al Qaida recruited based on the President's policy of torture and abuse of detainees.
"At least now we know where the blame for those soldiers' deaths squarely belongs. President Bush's decision broke with a military tradition dating back to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War and the consequences are clear: Al Qaida is stronger and our country is less safe."
Cullen and Irvine are among 15 former military and intelligence officials currently working with Human Rights First in Pennsylvania, meeting with congressional candidates from both parties to help inform them about issues of prisoner treatment and interrogation.

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George W. Bush Defends Waterboarding: Would Waterboard Khalid Sheik Mohammed Again 3JUN10

George W. Bush defended waterboarding on Wednesday, saying he would waterboard Khalid Sheik Mohammed again.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former President George W. Bush says if he had it to do over, he would still waterboard the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Waterboarding is a simulated drowning technique that the Obama administration considers torture. Bush acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. used the harsh interrogation technique on Khalid Sheik Mohammed and said he would "do it again to save lives."
Bush made the comment while speaking to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and is the most senior al-Qaida operative in U.S. custody.
In his speech, Bush defended the decision to go to war with Iraq in 2003. He said ousting Saddam Hussein "was the right thing to do and the world is a better place without him."