Bush Acknowledges Holding Terror Suspects In Secret
The press report calls it acknowledging "secret prisons", I'm waiting to read the exact words Bush used in the speech. This is the first time the administration has acknowledged anything of the sort, so I imagine that this will become the hot topic of the day.
He said the "small number" of detainees that fall into this category include people responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 in Yemen and the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
"The most important source of information on where the terrorists are hiding and what they are planning is the terrorists themselves," Bush said in a White House speech with families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, sitting in the audience. "It has been necessary to move these individuals to an environment where they can be held in secret, questioned by experts and, when appropriate, prosecuted for terrorist acts."
The announcement from Bush is the first time the administration has acknowledged the existence of CIA prisons, which have been a source of friction between Washington and some allies in Europe. The administration has come under criticism for its treatment of terrorism detainees. European Union lawmakers said the CIA was conducting clandestine flights in Europe to take terror suspects to countries where they could face torture.
As he did in his speech yesterday, another in a series pegged to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush said that the country was still under threat from terrorists.
"They're still trying to strike America and still trying to kill our people," Bush said. The U.S. must be able to "detain, question and, when appropriate, prosecute terrorists captured here in America and on the battlefields around the world."
Bush said such detainees provide essential intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks and to stop key terror suspects from again taking up arms against the United States. "We have a right under laws of war and an obligation to the American people to detain these people and prevent them from returning to battle," Bush said.
"They are in our custody so that they can't kill our people."
It will still be interesting to see whether there is anything to the "secret flight" information that the EU is looking at. Up until now there has not been any confirmation of those flights.
UPDATE: Allah calls it a shrewd move. I am trying to get the text becuse it appears that the reports are all focusing on the admission of the detainees, but not prointing the way getting information seriously disrupted a number of advanced plots.
UPDATE: Full transcript of Bush's remarks. He focused on the information that was obtained and on the plots broken up. The press concentrated on the "admission".
Other Links to this Post
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Leaning Straight Up — Wednesday, 6 September , 2006 @ 5:51 pm
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Old War Dogs — Wednesday, 6 September , 2006 @ 8:09 pm
By WPB, Wednesday, 6 September , 2006 @ 1:41 pm
This is not “the first time the administration has acknowledged anything of the sort.”
See here: Secret Detainees Transferred to Guantanamo
By Anchoress, Wednesday, 6 September , 2006 @ 1:41 pm
Well, that’s not really surprising, right? The reports will focus on the “admission” and then the press will try to foment a scandal from it, and the fascinating information Bush gave on what has been prevented will be glossed over.
By Bill Franklin, Wednesday, 6 September , 2006 @ 5:28 pm
I like how when Condi was asked whether torture is occuring at these prisions, she responded “The President expects all personnel..ugh..all *American* personnel to abide by the Geneva Conventions.” Translation: We have foreigners at these prisions who do the torturing for us, that’s why they’re hidden away in foreign countries.
This news should do wonders to help spread the message that America is the land of the free. Secret prisions in foreign countries where detainees are kept with no hope for trial. “The trend is clear: In the Middle East and throughout the world, freedom is on the march.” Bush, 2005
A few more slogans:
* WAR IS PEACE
* FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
* IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
By Roland Hesz, Thursday, 7 September , 2006 @ 1:54 am
“The press concentrated on the “admission”.”
Well, the gathering of information was not denied so vehemently.
The existence of secret prisons was.
They concentrate on the lie revealed. Of course, they could hush it up.
Dismissing it, that would be really convenient - lie, what lie, oh that lie, oh that’s not important.