Wednesday, July 14, 2021

But...

 As per the ealier blog post from today the Biden administration is inching towards closure of Guantanamo with its proposed military budget. However, in a filing on friday the government missed its best opportunity to have the place closed forever. The brief failed to even address the main issue- Does the due process clause apply to the men at Guantanamo. This of course is frustrating but not surprising. Several of the attorneys who have been working on Guantanamo from the justice department have been there since the Bush days. This of course is one of my many complaints about Obama -- he left all the Bushies in place. 

Anyway, you can read more here.

inching towards closure...

 tiny steps but steps...

House panel advances $706 billion Pentagon bill: The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday voted to advance a $706 billion Pentagon spending bill to the House floor. Combined with a separate military construction spending bill, the committee’s bill closely follows President Biden’s request for a $715 billion Defense Department budget in 2022. The bill seeks to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility by prohibiting funds from being used to operate the prison after September 30, 2022, and would block funds from being used to support or facilitate offensive military operations conducted by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen. The Appropriations Committee also rejected an amendment from Representative Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) to add language blocking transfers of detainees from Guantánamo to facilities in the United States, a provision that has been law for years but was dropped from the panel’s bill this year. The panel also approved a pair of amendments from Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) to repeal the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force approved following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Hill

h/o to Eric