Simple Man Politics

I am sure that there are a lot of things I can write about today that are going on in politics that directly affects all of us. What I am going to write about today does affect all of us, but it only affects a few of us directly. That is not to say that we were any less outraged at the catastrophe that I’m going to talk about, but the families involved will have to endure a little more injustice on top of the injustice of losing loved ones in a cowardly attack. You see today’s subject is about the USS Cole, it’s victims, the crime, and now the travesty of justice where it’s criminal mastermind is concerned.

On October 12, 2000 while in the port of Aden in Yemen refueling the Cole suffered massive damage as a result of a cowardly suicide bombing attack against her. The crew of the Cole also suffered thirty-nine injuries and seventeen fatalities. The Cole began refueling at 10:30 am and at approximately 11:18 local time a small craft approached the port side of the destroyer and exploded putting a 40-by-40 foot gash in the side of the ship. In addition to the gash in the side of the ship there was also wide spread flooding the engineering spaces, but was brought under control by the evening. Navy divers determined that the keel was not damaged in the attack.

On March 14, 2007 a federal judge in the United States by the name of Robert Doumar ruled that the Sudanese government was liable for the bombing of the USS Cole. This ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed against that government by the victim’s relatives claiming that Al Qaeda could not have made this attack without support from Sudanese officials. On July 25, 2007 Justice Doumar ordered that the Sudanese government pay 8 million dollars to the families of the seventeen sailors who died, but the Sudanese are currently appealing this ruling.

As of May 2008, all of the defendants convicted of the attack had escaped from prison, or were freed by Yemeni officials. However, on June 30, 2008 Brigadier General Thomas W Hartman, legal advisor to the US Military Tribunal System announced that charges were being sworn against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Nashiri a Saudi citizen of Yemeni descent had been held at Gitmo since 2006. The charges filed were defined as organizing and directing the bombing of the USS Cole and the Pentagon will seek the death penalty.

As of today however the Pentagon and retired judge Susan Crawford who oversees the commissions issued a ruling dismissing without prejudice the charges against al-Nashiri. This was done to avoid a showdown between the Pentagon and the President. It also means that the charges can be reinstated at any time, while still bringing Gitmo into line with the 120 day stay order made by Obama. Al-Nashiri was arrested in the UAE in 2002 on charges of conspiring with militants and was later transferred to Gitmo.

Because of all of the political wrangling going on with regard to the closing of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility the charges against this animal have been dropped. They have also said that since this beast was water boarded that the evidence may even be inadmissible in court, I guess we will have to wait and see how that angle works itself out.

I don’t see how we can give animals like this the same rights we afford their victims, which is to say the American people, but I fervently hope that even with justice wearing her customary blindfold, that she is not blind to the atrocities that this creature or any like him we have in custody have committed and judges them accordingly. As for the real victims in all of this, my prayers are with them and I pray they get the justice they so richly want and deserve.

That’s it for this week my friends, but I will be back again next week. Have an awesome weekend, CIAO4NOW!!!!!

P.S. I now have this blog page set up so that you can follow it. The tool for that is on the left side of the page near the bottom, I hope you all do.