Imprisoned without charges for fourteen years in Guantánamo, Mohamedou Slahi is a symbol of humans' impulse to abuse power and their capacity for redemption.
As a conservative, I now have to self-censor quite a bit. And I recall having to keep my mouth shut when the "Patriot" act was passed those many years ago. Same as it ever was, I guess.
While I frequently state the US has done more good for more people in more countries for a longer period of time than any country in history, stories like this are part of the awful doings of the US, just like any global power throughout history. I simply cannot fathom how any "system" of a "free" country could behave like this for 14 years. Apart from any legal or constitutional issues, it just is not fair.
At the same time, there seems to be no value for a politician standing on principal, so why bother taking the "right" stance when it will only cost you?
'President Obama — who so flamboyantly campaigned in 2008 on the promise to close the camp — instead had his Justice Department appeal the ruling in Slahi’s favor in order to keep him encaged. ' The same man who got a Nobel Peace Prize imprisoning a man who - by all accounts - sounds like the embodiment of peace.
Power over the powerless is so intoxicating to those who govern. Unfortunately the partisan divide is so deep even the most common sense efforts to rein in government is seen as unnecessary by whatever party is in power. The illusion we are free continues as we give away our rights little by little to those giddy with power. All is good until they come for me. By then it is too late.
"It cannot be disputed that limitless power was placed in the hands of the U.S. Government to imprison, to monitor, to surveil, to kidnap and to kill anyone it wanted, anywhere in the world, with no checks." - Glenn Greenwald
All that and more: the Global War on Terror also gave the POTUS the power to wage endless war. Since 2001, the U.S. & its allies have dropped at least 325,890 bombs - that's an average of 46 bombs and missiles EVERY SINGLE DAY for almost 20 years. Millions have died, many millions have been injured or maimed, and still millions more have become refugees fleeing the relentless barrage. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/56405.htm. The GWOT has made the world more dangerous for us all.
OT but maybe Glenn will be pleased to hear that we just adopted a rescue dog. He comes from Alabama and was transported to the shelter in Boston where I volunteer. I met him first on Tuesday and took him home on Friday. He, now named Rocco, and Lucy, our 3-year old rescue, are getting along great, as you see https://i.imgur.com/kj5lp1X.jpeg
The authorities were given extraordinary powers to do the "right thing" and they did the wrong thing. The powers were supposed to be temporary but became permanent. The processes are not transparent, the deep state uses secret courts for legal cover and leaks fake documents to corporate media to build fake narratives. Giving them the power to detain foreigners was a mistake, it seems the powers cannot be taken away now and are being turned against Americans.
The first war on terror was horrific and took up my earliest years of life. The second is happening in my early adulthood. Must be fought, but first, called out.
When you're so abused, as he was, your only option is to attain acceptance, or in his case, forgiveness. It is the only way to take back your life rather then allow the abuse to destroy and consume it with rage and revenge. He's fortunately an articulate man who has been able to use what happened to him to write a book, now a movie, and that's a great way to get back at your abusers, articulate what happened to you, a kind of therapy, and let the world acknowledge the injustice of what America did to you and what it continues to do to others. I would love to see the movie, and I can see it at home. I wanted those who were culpable punished, but never had a hawkish view on finding those who were responsible, and I hope many on this site didn't feel our many criminal abuses in pursuing those responsible was acceptable, or would want it repeated. I think most wouldn't. I didn't want them to kill osama bin Laden, and wanted to here his side of the story.
Events sometimes come full circle, and those who accepted the foreign War on Terror will be the most likely recipients of the domestic and substantially refined version.
And to think. Men and women once braved a brutal and unforgiving frontier for a chance at freedom. Now it has come to this, a nation cowering from an enemy that poses no rational threat to it. One willing to abandon its soul entire to avoid even the slightest chance of harm. And for what? A few more years of deteriorating health and more junk to throw in a storage facility? Embarrassing.
Look forward to watching the movie. I was one of those Americans who was so angry after 9/11 that I roughly fell into the "Time to take the gloves off." camp. Terrible fact patterns like this one suffered by Mr. Slahi indicate that Glenn's civil liberties concerns regarding GWOT (global war on terror) were entirely warranted and that my dismissal of those concerns was wrong. It seems Glenn has been entirely consistent for twenty years; the inconsistency is who constitutes his detractors.
Thanks for the canary in the coal mine.....the prospect of Patriot 2021 is not so much shocking as fatalistic.
History suggests that the US swings to an extreme (think McCarthy or WW2 internment) but we, over time, swing back.
Not so sure this time we will be able to swing back but Mr. Slahi's perspective on forgiveness is inspirational and calming.
DIFFERENT SUBJECT:
Your business and productivity is admirable. However, please keep breaks / vacations in mind. And work to avoid PVBs (post-vacation blues) but having a future trip planned after your conclude your next well-earned break.
How individuals like this man and others like Nelson Mandela endure and retain their humanity and decency is a testament to the power of a good soul vs the darkest impulses of humanity. Even the massive evils of Nazism and abuses of Communism eventually fall and the darkness is pushed back by the dawn. One definition of "God" is --- hope and love. How they endure is a mystery given the forces that conspire to destroy those gifts. A single man like this is a light in the darkness.
Glenn I donated to your work with homeless animals and it inspited me to adopt another homeless kitten. The article on Mr Slahi was powerful and what a hero he is. My assistant is ordering 5 copies his book Guantanamo Diaries and my church group and I will wath the video this weekend. One minor suggestion which, if not of value, please toss aside: I would consider adding in your articles the potential that our overreaching government will use legislation 1021 which at one page long, is buried in the NDAA in the counterterrorism section. To my amatuer eye 1021 is the Patriot Act on steroids and could, if implimented be ironically, as dangerous to any American's liberty-including those imlementing it- as it is so inclusive as to make anyone vulnerable to arrest, without charges or habeau Corpus. If it is helpful here is short article about it: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dear-americans-this-law-makes-it-possible-to-arrest_b_57c9b648e4b06c750dd9cd6f . Judge Spring wrote a brilliant opinion in the first Federal court siding with the defendent that the legislation was unconsitutional in Hedge versus Obama. Sadly, soon after, it is my understanding, the DOJ requested a stay arguing no standing for defendent and the case was not accepted at Appeals Court. In my opinion, the legislation 1021 is a serious issue that has the potential to do great harm as few Americans talk about and even less are aware of. Perhaps you could waive in with your expertise as I am hoping I am wrong about the legislation's potential danger to hurt our freedoms in these Orwelian times. Most important keep up the fine work.Thank you, Steve
As a conservative, I now have to self-censor quite a bit. And I recall having to keep my mouth shut when the "Patriot" act was passed those many years ago. Same as it ever was, I guess.
While I frequently state the US has done more good for more people in more countries for a longer period of time than any country in history, stories like this are part of the awful doings of the US, just like any global power throughout history. I simply cannot fathom how any "system" of a "free" country could behave like this for 14 years. Apart from any legal or constitutional issues, it just is not fair.
At the same time, there seems to be no value for a politician standing on principal, so why bother taking the "right" stance when it will only cost you?
Mr. Slahi seems to be an incredible individual.
'President Obama — who so flamboyantly campaigned in 2008 on the promise to close the camp — instead had his Justice Department appeal the ruling in Slahi’s favor in order to keep him encaged. ' The same man who got a Nobel Peace Prize imprisoning a man who - by all accounts - sounds like the embodiment of peace.
What a farcical world we live in.
Power over the powerless is so intoxicating to those who govern. Unfortunately the partisan divide is so deep even the most common sense efforts to rein in government is seen as unnecessary by whatever party is in power. The illusion we are free continues as we give away our rights little by little to those giddy with power. All is good until they come for me. By then it is too late.
"It cannot be disputed that limitless power was placed in the hands of the U.S. Government to imprison, to monitor, to surveil, to kidnap and to kill anyone it wanted, anywhere in the world, with no checks." - Glenn Greenwald
All that and more: the Global War on Terror also gave the POTUS the power to wage endless war. Since 2001, the U.S. & its allies have dropped at least 325,890 bombs - that's an average of 46 bombs and missiles EVERY SINGLE DAY for almost 20 years. Millions have died, many millions have been injured or maimed, and still millions more have become refugees fleeing the relentless barrage. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/56405.htm. The GWOT has made the world more dangerous for us all.
This is why your $50 was the best money I spent all year. Keep it up!
OT but maybe Glenn will be pleased to hear that we just adopted a rescue dog. He comes from Alabama and was transported to the shelter in Boston where I volunteer. I met him first on Tuesday and took him home on Friday. He, now named Rocco, and Lucy, our 3-year old rescue, are getting along great, as you see https://i.imgur.com/kj5lp1X.jpeg
The authorities were given extraordinary powers to do the "right thing" and they did the wrong thing. The powers were supposed to be temporary but became permanent. The processes are not transparent, the deep state uses secret courts for legal cover and leaks fake documents to corporate media to build fake narratives. Giving them the power to detain foreigners was a mistake, it seems the powers cannot be taken away now and are being turned against Americans.
The first war on terror was horrific and took up my earliest years of life. The second is happening in my early adulthood. Must be fought, but first, called out.
When you're so abused, as he was, your only option is to attain acceptance, or in his case, forgiveness. It is the only way to take back your life rather then allow the abuse to destroy and consume it with rage and revenge. He's fortunately an articulate man who has been able to use what happened to him to write a book, now a movie, and that's a great way to get back at your abusers, articulate what happened to you, a kind of therapy, and let the world acknowledge the injustice of what America did to you and what it continues to do to others. I would love to see the movie, and I can see it at home. I wanted those who were culpable punished, but never had a hawkish view on finding those who were responsible, and I hope many on this site didn't feel our many criminal abuses in pursuing those responsible was acceptable, or would want it repeated. I think most wouldn't. I didn't want them to kill osama bin Laden, and wanted to here his side of the story.
So glad he is at least done with that ordeal, as much as person can be done with it. I wonder to what camps will 70 million Trump Supporters be sent?
Events sometimes come full circle, and those who accepted the foreign War on Terror will be the most likely recipients of the domestic and substantially refined version.
And to think. Men and women once braved a brutal and unforgiving frontier for a chance at freedom. Now it has come to this, a nation cowering from an enemy that poses no rational threat to it. One willing to abandon its soul entire to avoid even the slightest chance of harm. And for what? A few more years of deteriorating health and more junk to throw in a storage facility? Embarrassing.
Happy Birthday a couple of days ago, Glenn. Hope it was joyous. Thanks for your good work. You are a light that we all need these days.
Look forward to watching the movie. I was one of those Americans who was so angry after 9/11 that I roughly fell into the "Time to take the gloves off." camp. Terrible fact patterns like this one suffered by Mr. Slahi indicate that Glenn's civil liberties concerns regarding GWOT (global war on terror) were entirely warranted and that my dismissal of those concerns was wrong. It seems Glenn has been entirely consistent for twenty years; the inconsistency is who constitutes his detractors.
Thanks for the canary in the coal mine.....the prospect of Patriot 2021 is not so much shocking as fatalistic.
History suggests that the US swings to an extreme (think McCarthy or WW2 internment) but we, over time, swing back.
Not so sure this time we will be able to swing back but Mr. Slahi's perspective on forgiveness is inspirational and calming.
DIFFERENT SUBJECT:
Your business and productivity is admirable. However, please keep breaks / vacations in mind. And work to avoid PVBs (post-vacation blues) but having a future trip planned after your conclude your next well-earned break.
Thanks for all.
How individuals like this man and others like Nelson Mandela endure and retain their humanity and decency is a testament to the power of a good soul vs the darkest impulses of humanity. Even the massive evils of Nazism and abuses of Communism eventually fall and the darkness is pushed back by the dawn. One definition of "God" is --- hope and love. How they endure is a mystery given the forces that conspire to destroy those gifts. A single man like this is a light in the darkness.
Glenn I donated to your work with homeless animals and it inspited me to adopt another homeless kitten. The article on Mr Slahi was powerful and what a hero he is. My assistant is ordering 5 copies his book Guantanamo Diaries and my church group and I will wath the video this weekend. One minor suggestion which, if not of value, please toss aside: I would consider adding in your articles the potential that our overreaching government will use legislation 1021 which at one page long, is buried in the NDAA in the counterterrorism section. To my amatuer eye 1021 is the Patriot Act on steroids and could, if implimented be ironically, as dangerous to any American's liberty-including those imlementing it- as it is so inclusive as to make anyone vulnerable to arrest, without charges or habeau Corpus. If it is helpful here is short article about it: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dear-americans-this-law-makes-it-possible-to-arrest_b_57c9b648e4b06c750dd9cd6f . Judge Spring wrote a brilliant opinion in the first Federal court siding with the defendent that the legislation was unconsitutional in Hedge versus Obama. Sadly, soon after, it is my understanding, the DOJ requested a stay arguing no standing for defendent and the case was not accepted at Appeals Court. In my opinion, the legislation 1021 is a serious issue that has the potential to do great harm as few Americans talk about and even less are aware of. Perhaps you could waive in with your expertise as I am hoping I am wrong about the legislation's potential danger to hurt our freedoms in these Orwelian times. Most important keep up the fine work.Thank you, Steve