Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

More Crime & Courts Stories»

Gitmo Detainee Files a Mess

Obama officials condemn disorder; ex-Bushies cry blame game

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 25, 2009 6:12 PM CST

(Newser) – The case files of many Gitmo detainees are incomplete, disorganized, or strewn around the executive branch, complicating President Barack Obama’s plan to close down the detention center, reports the Washington Post. Incoming officials discovered the chaos when given access after the inauguration. One former official says he sometimes had to threaten to release prisoners to force the CIA to "cough up a sentence or two."

Some former officials counter that the Obama team is "backpedaling and trying to buy time" after promising the moon. But others acknowledge that different agencies often didn’t share information, and that the Bush administration prioritized interrogation over prosecution. "The consensus among almost everyone is that the current system is not in our national interest and not sustainable," an incoming official says.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

Detainees wearing orange jump suits sit in a holding area as military police patrol during in-processing at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Shane T.McCoy, File)

The sun rises over Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, the day US President Barack Obama ordered the prison closed within a year. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Colin Perkel)

Surrounded by retired senior military leaders, and Vice-President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama signs an executive order closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A US soldier keeps watch from a guard tower overlooking Camp Delta detention center on Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley,File)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Fundamentally, we believe that the individual files on each detainee are comprehensive and sufficiently organized. - Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 13 comments

AmericaPrevails

Jan 30, 2009 8:23 PM CST

No, good try, but no. I guess in your case ignorance is bliss. Gents, the constitution does not extent to prisoners of war. And especially not to terrorists or suspected terrorists. The constitution is applicable only to American citizens who submit to the control of the government and accept the constitution by claiming to be American citizens and having the paperwork to back it up.

Guest

Jan 27, 2009 2:40 AM CST

GItmo means we do not believe our Constitution and courts are adequate to deal with these kinds of prisoners. I disagree: I think our system works great and is a beautiful model for the world. All those people who believe Gitmo should stay open disgust me for their faithlessness in the system that gives them security and free speech.

Forderon

Jan 26, 2009 9:20 PM CST

Exactly. To want to keep Gitmo around is to admit that you don't believe in the Constitution. Doesn't that make conservatives...."un-American"? Unpatriotic? Country second? Not the "real America"? Not "supporting the troops"? LOL, all the faux-patriotism talking points from hillbilly America are so hypocritical.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Washington Post (Source Grid »)

How did US get Gitmo, anyway?
Toronto Star (Canada)

Closing Gitmo easier said than done
AFP

Gitmo's end means tough times for al-Qaeda propagandists
AFP

Crime & Courts • Politics • US

Bush administration • Barack Obama • Guantanamo Bay • Bush legacy • Guantanamo prisoners • George W. Bush • Obama administration • President Obama

More Newser Stories

Detroit Bust Would've Been Better Than Bailout

Ex-Prez Bush says bailout his idea, and a good one

(NEWSER) - Three years ago, Mitt Romney wrote that President Obama should " Let Detroit Go Bankrupt ," instead of bailing out the struggling auto industry, in a famous New York Times column. And today? Even with the American auto industry on the rebound, Michigan's GOP primary looming on Feb. 28, and Rick Santorum breathing down his neck in the polls , Romney still thinks bankruptcy would have been better than the president's "crony capitalism," he writes in the Detroit News . "I believe that without his intervention things there would be better," he writes. More»

Obama Unveils $3.8T Budget, Targets Rich

Budget would institute 'Buffett Rule,' boost infrastructure

(NEWSER) - President Obama officially unveiled his $3.8 trillion budget today, and as expected it draws a 2012 battle line, calling for higher taxes on the wealthy combined with spending measures intended to bolster the economy, the AP reports. "We built this budget around the idea that our country has always done best when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules," Obama said, according to CNN . "This is not about class warfare. This is about the nation's welfare." More»

White House to Budge on Birth-Control Mandate

'Accommodation' for religious employers will likely be announced today

(NEWSER) - The White House yesterday signaled a compromise over its contentious birth control decision, and the Wall Street Journal confirms that an attempt to accommodate the Catholic Church will likely be announced today. Details remain hazy, but one source tells the Journal that insurance companies, not religious employers, will become the ones who pay for contraception coverage. ABC News notes the move would be cheaper for health insurance companies than having to cover unwanted pregnancies and complications. But since the "accommodation" will still allow female employees access to birth control, Jake Tapper notes, it will likely not satisfy religious leaders. More»

Small Donors Gave 48% of Obama's 2011 Donations

That's more than double the proportion from 2007: analysis

(NEWSER) - President Obama continues to be successful raising money through small donations—and this time around, he's outpacing his campaign from four years ago. Last year, almost half of the money raised by the president's re-election campaign came from donors who gave $200 or less in total, a new report from the Campaign Finance Institute shows. In 2007, by comparison, just 22% of the $96.7 million he raised came from donations of $200 or less. In total, Obama raised $56.7 million from small donors last year, compared to the $38.1 million small donors contributed to all of his Republican opponents combined. More»

No Child Left Behind Waiver Granted to 10 States

At least 28 more plan to seek one

(NEWSER) - Ten of the first 11 states to apply for a waiver from the controversial No Child Left Behind law will be freed from the law's requirements by President Obama today, the AP reports. Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee received the waivers; New Mexico's application was not approved, but it is working with the White House to get the OK. Another 28 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are expected to seek waivers in the future; the heavily populated states of California, Pennsylvania, and Texas are among those that have not yet signaled they will apply. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Gitmo Detainee Files a Mess