The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn a series of allegations made in federal court that tie Binyam Mohammed, a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay, to a plot to explode a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States, blow up apartment buildings here and release cyanide gas in nightclubs. Defense lawyers said the decision should force the Pentagon to drop charges of conspiracy and material support for terrorism against Mohammed, which were filed by military prosecutors in May. The charges, the lawyers said, are spurious and based on false confessions obtained through torture.
From the archive: ... essential ... superb, tough-minded ... meticulous ... assiduously investigated, brilliantly argued ... usefully horrifying ... devastating ... shattering ... powerful ... sharp, shaming ... grim, yet straightforward ... raises a great many uncomfortable, important questions. Sad, important and very difficult to watch.
Also: Here it is, the much-hyped moment where Sarah Palin was unable to name any Supreme Court case that she disagreed with, other than Roe v. Wade.
One presumes this means she concurs with the Court's recent decisions: Boumediene v. Bush is one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in recent years. McCain has already promised that if elected he will appoint more justices like Roberts and Alito. It would take only one such appointment to make further decisions like Boumediene impossible, and probably reverse that decision itself.
I must say, this is most confusing. |