Straw-Grasping

What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do,
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much, does it matter much to you?
--Living on a Thin Line, The Kinks

They'll stone you and then say they're all brave
They'll stone you when you're sent down in your grave
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned
--Everybody Must Get Stoned, Bob Dylan
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Salim Ahmed Hamdan, one of Osama bin Laden's seven chauffeurs, is the subject of the first American war crimes trial since World War II, and like Jose Padilla, he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell. The decks are stacked; the judge has already barred evidence obtained by interrogaters following his capture in 2002.

The title of a USA Today article calls Hamdan "bin Laden's aide," promoting him up the chain of command in the public's eye. Do George Bush's drivers qualify as aides? Were the drivers of Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, the Emperor, Goering, Himmler, Goebbels, et. al., tried at Nuremburg? No.

Are we so desperate in our Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) that drivers are now high-value targets or prisoners? America has become trapped within the confines of our faulty rhetoric and turned the world into a real-life video game that is the PWOT. Why, the PWOT outsells its nearest competitor -- Grand Theft Auto -- by hundreds of billions of dollars.

These Gitmo cases violate every tenet of American jurisprudence and the principles of the civilized world. After being denied habeas corpus and access to prosecution materials, having nine military members wearing WOT medals on their chests as judge, prosecutor, defense and jury is actually a joke. The world is laughing while alternately cringing.

These phony tribunals and phony wars are infinitely more detrimental to the integrity of the republic than any terrorist attack could ever hope to be. You could say the U.S. has functioned as [unwitting] accomplice to the goals of the 9-11 attackers, if you dared risk being called a heretic.

Hamdan's case features two distinct components, which should yield different results: 1) Actions prior to 9-11, and 2) Actions post 9-11.

If it can be proven that pre 9-11 Hamdan knew about or participated in criminal conspiracy in the 9-11 attack, then he is in fact a criminal and should be tried as such -- in a U.S. federal court.

Post 9-11 Hamdan was captured (not arrested) with 2 SA 7 SAM missiles in his vehicle. An SF Captain attested to this fact, but couldn't verify that Hamdan was the driver.

Assuming that Hamdan was the driver transporting these missiles that would be used against U.S. air assets, does this fact make him a terrorist? How about Enemy combatant?

In our lexicon, The U.S. CPT is a "warrior," while personnel captured opposing the U.S. invasion are deemed terrorists or war criminals. According to international law, everybody has the right and responsibility to defend their homeland. If U.S. soldiers are warriors, those fighting them are also warriors. If warriors, then POW's upon capture, not criminals.

Hamdan post 9-11 is not terrorist, he is UW/GW, a designation clearly covered by the Rules of War. Either way you cut it, a military tribunal is the wrong venue for driver Hamdan.

Going back to basics, a war crime violates the customs or laws of war. Both war crimes and crimes vs. humanity necessitate the actuality of a state of war. 9-11 was not an act of war, it was an act of terror, which is a legal concept. None of the charges against Hamdan fit the definition of war crimes.

If Hamdan was so bad, then why didn't loyal Special Forces troops just shoot his ass back in the wilds of Afghanistan? After all, it worked with Che.

Phony charges in a phony war turn America's legal system into a phony semblance of justice. The Hamdan's will come and go, but the erosion of America's legitimacy is indelible.

Unfortunately, the U.S. is on the short end of the morality stick here. Its invasion of Afghanistan because Saudi Arabians attacked the U.S. is not defensible, as Afghanistan's Taliban were not al-Qaeda, which was in fact the threat. Is America safer because we have destroyed our credibility in the civilized world?

U.S. actions fit the definition of war crimes much more clearly than do those of Hamdan.

Hell to Pay

So run, you cur... RUN! Tell all the other curs the law's comin'!
You tell 'em I'M coming... and hell's coming with me, you hear?
--Wyatt Earp, Tombstone (1993)

Master of puppets I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
--Master of Puppets, Metallica
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The legal system of Argentina is finally getting around to prosecuting "alleged" torture committed 24-31 years ago. It is news that doesn't raise much of a blip on the American radar screens, but it is instructive and hopeful.

Closing arguments were presented last week in the first trial involving torture at a notorious military prison during Argentina's Dirty War (1976-83):

"Federal prosecutor Mirna Goransky made her final presentation at the trial against former Coast Guard [Officer] Héctor Febrés, who is charged with 'crimes against humanity' committed at the ESMA Navy Mechanics School Detention Centre during Argentina’s military dictatorship (Prosecutor's Final Plea in Febres Case.)"

From an earlier New York Times mention:

The former officer, Héctor Febres, 66, is accused of kidnapping and torture in the case of four people who were seized by government agents and taken to the feared Navy Mechanics' School during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Mr. Febres, 66 years old, appeared in court and denied the charges.

The Navy Mechanics School was the largest clandestine torture center of the era. An estimated 4,500 prisoners passed through its cells, and many were never seen again."

George W. Bush and flunkies can play with words and parse the definition of torture to suit their needs, but eventually reality will catch up with them. Some day the American justice system may decide to follow the Argentine example and address the shame of the U.S.'s own impositions of torture.

If not the American system, then perhaps the world court. It may become unsafe for certain government officials to travel abroad in the not-too-distant future.

Even if it takes 24 to 31 years, it will be a well-earned stain upon the Bush legacy.