06 April 2009

Orwell Alive and Well in the Obama Whitehouse

One of the things that concerns me the most is Obama's comfort in continuing to support Bush's assault on basic procedural civil rights because they serve to reinforce the power of what is now his office.

Case in point, the Pentagon's "privilege review team", which is now considering charges against a victim of the torture protocols created by the Bush Administration.

What they posted was a cover sheet naming the case, and quoting unclassified portions of a UK court ruling saying that it was up to the US to release it, followed by a version redacted by said privilege review team", which blacked out everything but the title of their report, which is clearly stamped "unclassified":
The privilege team argue that by releasing the redacted memo Reprieve has breached the rules that govern Guantánamo lawyers and have made a complaint to the court of "unprofessional conduct".

Stafford Smith described their actions as intimidation, saying the complaint "doesn't even specify the rule supposedly breached".
So, according to someone at the Pentagon, by sending an unclassified document to the president of the United States of America, they are in violation of regulations, and could face as much as 6 months in jail.

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