Britain should be prepared to accept prisoners from Guantanamo Bay if it would help the Americans close the camp, Lord Goldsmith has said.
"Tony Blair's former attorney general said that the continued existence of the camp, established by the administration of President George Bush following the 9/11 attacks, was damaging the West.
The Government is reported to be considering helping incoming president Barack Obama - who has pledged to shut down the camp - with the re-settlement of former inmates who cannot be returned to their own countries because of the risk of persecution.
Lord Goldsmith said that it was right to do so as part of a wider international scheme to enable the camp to close".
Comment: I would not go as far as saying that Lord Goldsmith has redeemed himself by speaking out on this issue. However, I feel he deserves credit for this in mitigation.
3 comments:
I do not welcome Lord Goldsmith's intervention in this matter, if he can change his mind and say that it was legal for Tony Wots His Name to invade Iraq, then I would say his judgement on other matters is suspect.
What Mr. Obama has to do is let the obviously innocent ones go free, if this means he has to accept them into America with citizenship because of their imprisonment by America so be it.
Then put the others on trial, if it means that America has to pay and set up a court say at the Hague to do this again so be it.
Then if they are found guilty by this clearly impartial court they should be imprisoned in America.
If found not guilty then America must do all it can to re-settle these people.
America must sort this out on it's own I'm afraid to say.
BB: Precisely my thinking until he shocked me with a dose of common sense for a change. I agree with what Obama has to do. A problem I have with putting such as the suspect who claims to have masterminded 9/11 on trial is that he is seeking to become a martyr and his confession reminds me of the cranks involved in miscarriage of justice cases. As you say, I feel that America caused the problem it should sort it out.
If it were undertaken in say the Hague it would have to be with the proviso that only life imprisonment could be the maximum sentence, and not the death penalty.
This would ensure two things, one if a miscarriage of justice has occurred (like Lockerbie) the prisoner would still be alive, and could therefore be released or put into mental care.
Secondly I think knowing you stand the chance of just rotting away in an American prison for the rest of your life might sharpen one's sense into actually fighting the charges.
But its something Mr. Obama is going to have to struggle with on his own I'm afraid to say.
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