Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Romney Widening His Lead Over Obama

dear kwaku,
i suppose i can say obama is not my friend or enemy, but that i am not only disappointed in him, but regard his policies in human rights as little better than bush's. republicans are extreme-rightwingers to me, and politically my enemy, but obama shares too much with them for me to feel comfortable about any bland statements of support. of course i will vote for him, but he is a failure in protecting human rights. i won't take up the argument around whether he "has" to sustain policies like indefinite detention--these are abominable policies, and merely continuations of the war on terrorism. i really regard arguments about necessity in this context as ridiculous: the u.s. is the overwhelmingly greater military power on earth, and the notion that the state is somehow so threatened as to require us to abrogate basic rights is absurd, immoral, obscene.
the argument i wanted to share with this list comes from an amnesty international human rights lawyer who was responding to a question of where the obama administration stood on policies concerning human rights:
ken

Amnesty is definitely concerned with the human rights of detainees in  US custody at Bagram: there's the issue with the Army Field Manual I  mentioned, there's indefinite detention and lack of due process, and  there's been virtually no accoutnability for abuses there--including  for two deaths during interrogations that were ruled homicides by the  Army--only low level soldiers were sanctioned in those cases. And we  are also very concerned with what will become of the detainees if and  when they are transferred to Afghan custody. It's a terrible situation  for the people held there.    Rendition is a big question mark: Obama has said that the US does not  send detainees to other countries to be tortured and that we get  diplomatic assurances that anyone transferred will not be tortured--  but that's what Bush said! We don't know and have sought clarity from  the administration. Important to note that rendition in the  counterterrorism context started with President Clinton (if not  before).    And yes, there are a number of other huge human rights problems with  President Obama's current US counterterrorism policy: indefinite  detention (both before and after the NDAA), military commissions that  do not meet fair trial standards and targeted killings (drones for short  hand).    On indefinite detention: yes, the Supreme Court ruled in Boumediene v  Bush (2008) that Guantanamo detainees have a Constitutional right to  habeas corpus--in other words, to have the lawfulness of their  detention reviewed.  However, that's within a framework of indefinite  detention that the government claims is lawful based on Authorization  for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed by Congress right after  9/11.    Some detainees have lost their habeas petitions, with the court ruling  that they are, in fact, lawfully detained. Many detainees have won  their habeas petitions, some have been released, but many remain  detained while the government appeals. Some have won, and there has  been no gov't appeal, but they remain held--with judges saying they  can't force the adminsitration to release the detainees--begging the  question, Is this really habeas? Lawyers are trying to get the SCOTUS  to take up that question.    The NDAA reaffirmed the AUMF, expanded who's covered by the AUMF from  those involved in 9/11 to those who are part of or substantially  support al Qaeda, the Taliban and affiliated groups (a big and vague  expansion!), the NDAA raffirmed and further enshrined indefinite  detention, and preserved the ambiguity that already existed in the  AUMF about whether citizens are subject to indefinite detention (note  that of course for AI the citizen/non-citizen distinction is  immaterial). The NDAA also mandated military custody for terror  suspects covered by the legislation, though Obama rejected that in his  signing statement. The 2012 NDAA also reaffirmed the ban on transfer  of GTMO detainees to the US, even for federal trial.    The 2012 NDAA could have been even worse. Amnesty, ACLU and others  help defeat an amendment by Senator Ayotte (R-NH, and possible Romney  VP) that would have allowed the CIA to authorize its own interrogation  techniques, in secret--clearly an attempt to bring back waterboarding  and other forms of torture. Senator McCain also called on Ayotte to  drop her amendment 9which probably had more impact on her than human  rights groups!)    So, the NDAA is bad, but it's only part of the wider problem of  detention abuses launched by the AUMF, and the misapplication of a law  of war framework to countering al Qaeda. The Geneva Conventions were  both misapplied and misinterpreted, at various times and in various  ways, and the gov't failed to recognize that, regardless, regular  human rights treaties (like ICCPR, UNCAT) still applied.    

On 5/8/12 8:56 PM, Edward Mensah wrote:

Of course, Bangura is in the same corner as Tavis Smiley, self-important people who love to listen to themselves.  Like they say in Fella land, they love to yab. They look at Barack and say, I am just as smart as Barack. How come he is not following my advice?  Granted the president has been timid in confronting the Republicans on many issues, but he is the best we have and we have to give him a chance. We must criticize him like you would criticize a friend, not an enemy. And there is a sea of difference. Bangura and Smiley sound just like enemies of Barack and they must be confronted, not ignored.

 

Kwaku Mensah

Chicago

 

 

 

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of basil ugochukwu
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 6:25 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Romney Widening His Lead Over Obama

 

It would have been understandable if Bangura's Obamaphobia started because Obama "took care of Ghadafi." On the contrary it goes way back; way, way back to when Obama and Hillary Clinton were contesting the Democratic nomination in 2008. I guess it's safe to say he's in the same corner as Tavis Smiley whose gripe with Obama you will have much difficulty placing a finger on.

 

 

---

From: D Foreal <forealng@yahoo.com>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 8, 2012 6:21:03 PM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Romney Widening His Lead Over Obama

 

Bangura's problem stems from the fact Obama and others took care of Ghadafi, his hero and so called brother. When Obama wins in November, Bangura should go and join Ghadafi. He can also hold hands with Ted Nuggent on his way out.

 

Osa.

 

---

From: "Akurang-Parry, Kwabena" <KAParr@ship.edu>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 8, 2012 3:18 PM
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Romney Widening His Lead Over Obama

 

Oga Bangura:

 

There are other polls and reports out there that show that Obama leads Romney! When do you plan to post such polls? We need a plate of balanced diet from you, or stop feeding us!

 

Kwabena 

---

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Abdul Bangura [theai@earthlink.net]
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 10:17 AM
To: USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Romney Widening His Lead Over Obama

Tale of the Tape for Tuesday, May 08, 2012:

 

Romney widens his lead over Obama by 5%, and Obama is also -16% nationally.

 

"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows Mitt Romney earning 49% of the vote and President Obama attracting 44% support. Three percent (3%) would vote for a third party candidate, while another three percent (3%) are undecided."

 

  

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

--   kenneth w. harrow   distinguished professor of english  michigan state university  department of english  east lansing, mi 48824-1036  ph. 517 803 8839  harrow@msu.edu