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No Mention of al Qaeda or Plot to Attack U.S. in Padilla Indictment

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by tigermission1, Nov 26, 2005.

  1. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Member

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    So, if the government has been running around and claiming at every turn that Padilla was involved in a plot to detonate a radioactive bomb in the US, why not charge him on it?

    Sounds more like one of those "he has terrorist ties, but we will settle for charging him on violating his visa and then deport him."

    Nearly four years of holding this guy without charge and this is it?

    Why did the Bush Administration Hold Jose Padilla for 3 Years as an Enemy Combatant? No Mention of al Qaeda or Plot to Attack U.S. in Indictment

    The Justice Department announced Tuesday criminal charges have been filed against Jose Padilla - the U.S. citizen who had been held for over three years in solitary confinement on a military brig in South Carolina.

    Padilla was first detained in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare Airport after he returned from a trip to Pakistan. At the time Attorney General John Ashcroft warned the government had "disrupted an unfolding terrorist plot to attack the United States by exploding a radioactive "dirty bomb." President Bush declared he was an enemy combatant who could be jailed in solitary confinement indefinitely without charges - even though he was a U.S. citizen.

    The Bush administration didn't even let Padilla meet with an attorney for two years.

    On Tuesday Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced Padilla is being removed from military custody and charged with a series of crimes.

    Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorney General, November 22, 2005:

    "Earlier today, a superseding indictment was unsealed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida charging Jose Padilla with providing - and conspiring to provide - material support to terrorists, and conspiring to murder individuals who are overseas." [Full transcript of statement]​

    But the indictment raises questions over why the Bush administration held Padilla as an enemy combatant for over three years.

    There is no mention in the indictment of Padilla's alleged plot to use a dirty bomb in the United States. There is also no mention that Padilla ever planned to stage any attacks inside the country. And there is no direct mention of Al Qaeda. Instead the indictment lays out a case involving five men who helped raise money and recruit volunteers in the 1990s to go overseas to countries including Chechnya, Bosnia, Somalia and Kosovo. Padilla, in fact, appears to play a minor role in the conspiracy. He is accused of going to a jihad training camp in Afghanistan but the indictment offers no evidence he ever engaged in terrorist activity.

    This is Padilla's attorney Donna Newman.

    Donna Newman, attorney for Jose Padilla, November 22, 2005:
    "We were anxious for an indictment because we knew that we could demonstrate that the government has exaggerated Mr. Padilla's involvement in any activity, that he was innocent of the charges."​

    The Washington Post reports Padilla's indictment came days before the Bush administration was due to respond to his appeal to the Supreme Court over his lengthy detention. Legal experts have said the government is trying to avoid another potentially losing confrontation in the high court over its detention policies. Attorneys with the Justice Department have already filed paperwork arguing that Padilla's Supreme Court challenge is now moot.

    We speak to Andrew Patel, one of Jose Padilla's attorneys, and Bill Goodman, Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights:

    http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/23/152219
     
  2. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Member

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    So tigermission, I'm guessing you're OK with people providing support to terrorists and conspiring to murder people overseas? Hopefully you haven't been attending that Mosque in Ohio....
     
  3. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    All fluff no substance texxx brings forth another gem.
     
  4. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    sometimes i wonder if texx and trader are real people.
     
  5. insane man

    insane man Member

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    and your ok with putting people in jail for 2-3 years who are US citizens caught in the US and never charging them as enemy combatant? all the while having no oversight?

    how american. :rolleyes:
     
  6. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    As long as they are a Muslim or person of dark skin, I would imagine he would not pipe up. Unless of course it was not a Republican doing the evil.
     
  7. Sishir Chang

    Sishir Chang Member

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    I was reading something about this and the problem with charging Padilla with conspiring with Al Qaeda and planning to use a dirty bomb is that the defense could then call Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Zubaydah to testify which would raise a ton of problems for the US government regarding how that information was gotten out of them.
     
  8. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    The government is not above the law. If they are accountable, they should be held as such.
     
  9. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    This government isn't so much above the law as they are getting around the law. You can't hold someone for a few years years without letting them see a lawyer and expect to be able to use anything he's said in court.
     
  10. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    And why not?
     
  11. Major

    Major Member

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    Reading comprehension should be a requirement for posting in this forum.
     
  12. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    Thanks, RM95. (for those that are wondering what I'm talking about -- he's logging in under Major's account b/c he is prohibited from accessing the D&D under his own account. He was banned.)

    Should donating to the website be a requirement for posting in this forum?
     
  13. Major

    Major Member

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    Congratulations on showing continued ignorance of all topics within this forum - even the ones you try to create because of your inability to stay on topic in threads.
     
  14. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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  15. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    Answer this question --
    Are you RM95 logging in under Major's account?
     
  16. Major

    Major Member

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    Nope, never has been. Nice try, though.

    Ignorance is bliss, though, so I'm sure you'll continue this argument again and again when you have nothing of value to say, which unfortunately, is pretty much 100% of the time.
     
  17. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    Well, that is a lie. You two have shared accounts during high traffic periods because only contributing members can access the BBS during those times (and Major hasn't contributed). Clutch called you out on it, in case you forgot. I believe this led to a ban for at least one of you for a period of time.

    I strongly suspect you are lying about the answer to my question as well. Major, for as much as I disagree with him, typically has well reasoned posts. You (RM95) on the other hand, typically have one-line posts which are pretty much devoid of any substance (except anger).
     
  18. Major

    Major Member

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    If you were trying to catch me in a lie, you did a terrible job phrasing your question. I have logged into RM95's account. He has never logged into mine. Your desperation is quite sad.

    I no longer have the patience for your inane posts. You don't be get serious arguments out of either of us anymore - you're simply not worth it. You have no interest in real discussions, so you won't get them.
     
  19. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    Nice, so you basically admit that if the question were phrased differently then your answer would have been different. Thanks for the confirmation, RM95.
     
  20. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    Because the charge he is being presented with is no less harmful/serious/grave. Aiding terrorists, be it with a dirty bomb or otherwise, is treasonous and in my opinion worthy of the death penalty.
     

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