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Politics : Bush Administration's Media Manipulation--MediaGate? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (7653)	6/29/2006 8:14:20 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 9838

U.S., Australia Affirm Commitments in Terror War Fight American Forces Press Service ^ \| Donna Miles WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 – The U.S. and Australian defense leaders today reaffirmed their governments' commitment to work together to counter terrorism and other threats, with Australian Minister of Defense Brendan Nelson vowing that his country will remain a solid partner in Iraq. "We remain with you, shoulder-to-shoulder, to support the heavy lifting in Iraq and Afghanistan and other theaters, including our own region, for the foreseeable future," Nelson said during his first visit to the Pentagon as Australia's defense minister. Australia has no plans on the table to reduce its force in Iraq - currently about 1,350 members -- he said. The 460 troops in the Muthanna province providing security for Japanese engineers will move to other parts of Iraq when the Japanese leave late next month. Some of those Australian troops will move to the basic training center in Tallil, and others will go to the counterinsurgency unit at Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad. Some will move south to the Saudi border, providing mentoring and training and support for Iraqi border patrols. Others could remain in Muthanna, providing backup to the Iraqi security forces the Australians trained there, Nelson said. He emphasized that the Iraqis, not the Australians, would serve in the lead. "This is about the Iraqi people in Al Muthanna taking control of their own affairs, and us being there to provide support," he said. "We are there until the job in Iraq is done," Nelson said. He defined exactly what conditions might signal that the job is finished and the coalition can discuss troop reductions and withdrawals. "When it is able to conduct its own affairs and we've negotiated the arrangements, then and only then will we be in a position to talk about such things," he said. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld praised Australia for its longstanding partnership with the United States that he said has strengthened with time. "Our countries have fought side by side ever since World War I, and cooperated very closely in so many activities, as we are today," he said. During the global war on terror, "few nations have been as resolute or shown as much clarity in their determination to protect freedom from the specter of terrorism than Australia," Rumsfeld said. The two countries are working to improve their militaries' abilities to train and operate together more seamlessly together, Rumsfeld noted. Nelson added that Australia is substantially increasing its defense spending and is "determined to see that our defense forces are interoperable with the United States." Last month, representatives of the United States and Australia paved the way to increased information sharing and cooperation in research and development related to combating terrorism. Thomas O'Connell, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Peter Shergold, Australia's secretary for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, signed a memorandum of understanding that promotes closer counterterrorism collaboration between the two countries. Nelson said today that Australians recognize the threat terrorism poses and aren't deluded into thinking their geography will protect them. "We take the view that the war against terrorism is not something that we can wait to turn up on our doorsteps," he said. He noted that Australia lost citizens in Bali to "people who signed up to the same ideological insanity as those in Afghanistan and Iraq." "We believe that if we do not take on people who have hijacked the Islamic faith in the name of evil - that if we simply say that it has nothing to do with us because we live in a more remote part of the world - then we will most certainly leave the next generation of Australians and people throughout the world hostage to a force that they may never control," Nelson said.

To: steve harris who wrote (7653)	6/29/2006 10:48:09 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9838

Court ruling to have little impact on Guantanamo (the impact will be negligible) Reuters ^ \| Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:24am \| Jane Sutton today.reuters.com GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE (Reuters) - A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on war crimes tribunals being held at Guantanamo navy base will have little effect on the detention camp that holds 450 foreign captives, the camp commander said. "I don't think there's any direct outcome on our detention operation," Rear Adm. Harry Harris, the prison commander, said in an interview this week. The high court upheld on Thursday a Guantanamo defendant's challenge to President George W. Bush's power to create the military tribunals to try suspected al Qaeda conspirators and Taliban supporters after the September 11 attacks. Harris said he would build a second courtroom if the tribunals are allowed to proceed but little else would change because the court was not asked to rule on Guantanamo itself, a prison camp that human rights groups, the United Nations and foreign governments have sharply criticized. The tribunals have also come under fire from lawyers, who say they are rigged to ensure conviction and offer none of the basic guarantees and rights granted suspects in the U.S. justice system or to which formal prisoners of war would be entitled. Ten detainees at Guantanamo have been charged before the tribunals, and prosecutors have said they will charge as many as 25 more if the court rules in favor of the commissions. "If they rule against the government I don't see how that's going to affect us. From my perspective I think the impact will be negligible," Harris told Reuters.

To: steve harris who wrote (7653)	6/29/2006 11:19:40 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9838

For Posterity, let's look at what some of the "innocent" prisoners released from Guantanamo have done: Released Prisoners from Guantanamo Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar, captured in Afghanistan in December 2001, was one of the twenty-three prisoners released from Camp Delta in late January 2004. After his release, he joined the remnants of the Taliban and was killed in a gunfight on September 26, 2004.[55] Abdullah Mehsud, also captured in Afghanistan in December 2001 after surrendering to Abdul Rashid Dostum, masterminded the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in Pakistan's South Waziristan region as well as returning to his position as an Al-Qaeda field commander.[56] Mehsud has also claimed responsibility for the bombing at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel in October 2004. The blast injured seven people, including a U.S. diplomat, two Italians and the Pakistani prime minister's chief security officer. Airat Vakhitov and Rustam Akhmyarov, two Russian nationals captured in Afghanistan in December 2001 and released from Guantánamo in late 2002, were arrested by Russian authorities on August 30, 2005. The two former detainees were arrested in Moscow for allegedly preparing a series of attacks in Russia. According to authorities, Vakhitov was using a local human rights group as cover for his activities.[57] en.wikipedia.org