Political Quotes

“I recently joined Senator Allen of Virginia on a trip to Guantanamo. We were met by the admiral in charge of the facility. He made it very clear in one of his opening remarks that Guantanamo is not there for punishment, but it is there for detention. He said punishment, of course, would be meted out to those found guilty of crime and wrongdoing. But the people being held there are being detained until we can determine their status. If they are, in fact, guilty of terrorism or war crimes, I think the Senator from Pennsylvania and I would quickly agree that they should be held responsible for those activities and punished to the full extent of the law. But, in most cases, for the hundreds of people in detention there, no charges have ever been leveled against them. The writ of habeas, which basically is asking the Government to give cause why they are detaining a person, is the way to determine whether this person is being held justly and fairly. I think to eliminate that right, which is fundamental in our western civilization, raises a question as to the outcome for the lives of hundreds of people still in Guantanamo in this uncertain situation where they are not charged with any crime at all: not charged with terrorism, not charged with a war crime, but being held in indefinite status, many of them, for many years.”