Obama Plans Indefinite Terror Detentions

Country woeful with terror suspects

(NEWSER) - With Yemen increasing under scrutiny as a staging ground for terror threats against the US, some analysts think that might not be the best place to send Yemenis the Obama administration wants to get out of the Guantanamo Bay prison. One former US diplomat tells Fox News that Saudi Arabia might be a better alternative, and “more effective than allowing the Yemenis to do what they’ve done in the past, which is to cast a blind eye at the effectiveness of detention.” More»

Experts split on whether to use federal courts or military commissions

(NEWSER) - President Obama is edging closer to his goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison: Congress has approved detainee trials on US soil and the National Defense Authorization Act, passed yesterday, attempts to repair the damaged legality of President Bush’s military-commissions system. But hurdles remain, with legal scholars split on using the improved military-commissions system or federal courts for prosecutions. More»

(NEWSER) - AG Eric Holder today named a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of torture against CIA operatives who interrogated terror suspects during the Bush administration, the Washington Post reports. John Durham, who is currently probing the destruction of interrogation tapes, will look into fewer than 12 cases detailed in a CIA report released today and determine if a full-scale investigation is warranted. The Bush-era Justice Department investigated and dismissed the cases. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama's task forces on the detention and interrogation of terror suspects will miss today's deadline for reporting their findings, the Washington Post reports. The review on detention policy has been given a 6-month extension, raising fears that the Guantanamo Bay prison may not be closed in January next year as promised. The task force on interrogation of future detainees has been given another two months. More»

Torture allegations trump state secrets argument, panel rules

(NEWSER) - Five men who allege they were kidnapped and tortured on the orders of CIA agents may bring suit in federal court, an appeals panel ruled yesterday. Presidents Bush and Obama both contended that the case should be dismissed to protect classified evidence. But a federal appeals court panel ruled presidential powers to guard state secrets "are not the only weighty constitutional values at stake." More»