Today I had the honor and privilege of joining other family members and victims of terrorism in meeting with members of the Guantanamo Review Task Force and the Detention Policy Task Force at the Department of Justice. I learned a lot about what our new President is doing and what he has the members of the task forces working on. After doing my own research and listening to the others present today I do not believe that there is a valid reason to close Guantanamo Bay. We are at WAR with TERRORISTS. OUR CONGRESS enacted the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to deal with the issues at hand, including the prosecution or release of detainees who were captured during the current war.
Do you really want these terrorists to face trial within the US along with the rights afforded to US citizens with the strong possibility that they will get off on a technicality? Do you want these dangerous terrorists to be held within the U.S.? The President ordered Guantanamo Bay closed within a year and he has made statements to the effect that this base is a black eye on our country. I heard from many family members today who have visited the base and can attest to the conditions. These prisoners are treated better than ordinary U.S. citizens who have committed crimes! They have access to laptops, get to meet frequently, and can pray whenever they want-they are NOT being tortured! (see Inside Gitmo) And why should our military be made to feel for even a second that they have not served our country bravely and that we are anything but grateful for all of their sacrifices? I am nothing but proud of our military and their selfless efforts all around the world.
Why should the United States or its citizens feel that they have to apologize to the world for being attacked or go on a PR campaign to improve its image? We do not! I feel that our President puts us at shame when he recently said in a trip overseas that he will restore America to its greatness. WE ARE A GREAT NATION, WE ALWAYS HAVE BEEN A GREAT NATION, AND I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. I don’t need to apologize and the President should not be apologizing to the world for me or for the U.S. for actions that are necessary to bring justice to the over 3000 victims and their families and to prevent further terrorist attacks on our nation.
Did you know that there is talk of reading terrorists their rights and excluding statements made by detainees who are not read their rights? Are we forgetting that we are at war? Are we forgetting all of the people [who] have died over the last 10 years for our country? Are we doing all we can to prevent the next terrorist attack?
Please know that if we do not begin to speak up now that we will lose our chance. Forward this email, write your own, call or write your politicians and demand that justice be served (and swiftly). The current actions of our President will make our country a mockery of the world when we can’t even effectively deal with known terrorists, some of which have already tried to plead guilty but were denied the chance to do so when President Obama stopped the Military Commissions.
We are wasting time and energy that could very well be spent on preventing future attacks or aiding all of the survivors of the attacks that have already occurred. Let the intelligence community do their job that they were assigned to do and stop getting in their way. Don’t bring known terrorists to U.S. soil when there is an effective way to deal with them already set up. Stop listening to the liberal media who are trying to fill our heads and headlines with exaggerations, lies, and one-sided arguments. As a family member said today, “Closing Guantanamo is the easy and lazy thing to do.” Stop this travesty of justice!
In honor of all of those who serve our country and all of the victims of terrorism and their families,
God bless America!
Melissa Long
June 17, 2009
Voices of September 11
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Editor:
Melissa Long’s fiancé was murdered during the 9/11 attacks upon our nation.
For those family members of the victims of terrorism unable to attend the Department of Justice’s meetings, but still interested in expressing views, the DOJ “welcome[s] written submissions.” Please send your written comments via email (nsd.ovt@usdoj.gov) or fax (202-514-4275) to the Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (OVT) no later than June 19, 2009. * Click here for a few questions to consider when writing them.
* The deadline for submitting comments has been extended to June 26, 2009.
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Update, 3:45 PM EDT: We thank Michelle Malkin for linking over and Military Families United for cross-posting Melissa’s letter.
You need to get your head out of the sand unless you’re under there with the black CIA and realize it is they who did 911, please read Paul Krugman of NY Times, 99% of Gitmo is innocent, that’s why none convicted in 8 years, also torture is illegal, the kind of thing NeoNazis like the Republicans who committed 9-11 do, and you need to start focusing your revenge fantasies on the people who are propagandizing you, or are you one of them?
Editor — Why would we give a tinker’s damn what economist Krugman, ballet critic Rich, drunken Dowd, or America hater “Pinch” think about 9/11 and national security (or what a$$hat 9/11 truther Val thinks for that matter)?
Why we Should Demand Military court Hearings for GTMO Detainees (June 19,2009)
By Cherie Faircloth
Fiancee of Tom Resta, WTC family member to murdered brother John Resta, sister-in-law Sylvia San Pia and unborn baby Resta
I am writing this letter to voice my concerns regarding the 1) hearings of detainees at GTMO and 2) the “options” on the table regarding the transfer/release and closing of GTMO.
My fiancé, Tom Resta and I attended a meeting held in Orlando on June 9, 2009 by representatives of military and victim family members who took a great deal of time to explain to us about the conditions and the detainee situation at GTMO and emphasize the need for the government to try those held and eigible for hearings in military commissions and NOT federal court. We heard by example about the five high value detainees who master-minded and acted as financier’s of the hijackers as they lived in the U.S. in preparation of 9-11. The team explained the difference between military court and federal court and it was clear to me after this discussion on these two legal court proceedings that it is urgent, almost mandatory that the GTMO detainees continue to be heard and judged under MILITARY COURT. Anything less would possibly allow these identified “worst of the worst” detainees to possibly walk on technicality due to the differences in military and federal court evidence gathering.
It concerns me greatly to think that all intelligence gathered by the military, the FBI and other foreign intelligence over the last 8 years could be thrown out of court and the legal process would have to start all over again if Eric Holder and his committee chose to move these hearings to federal court. We do not need, of all the detainees being held at GTMO, to have the five perhaps most dangerous prisoners let out of GTMO. I urge President’s Obama to try these high value prisoners by the strict standards of military court and hand down the stiffest sentence allowed by law.
If these terrorists master-minded and financed the 9-11 hijackers surely eight years later they would have the same capacity to carry out other terrorist acts against the U.S.
My fiancé attended the June 17th meeting in Washington to be heard by Obama’s team as to what the his family members believe should be done with the detainees. As was reported by Tom, the “team” headed by Eric Holder, has to put a final proposal on President Obama’s desk NEXT MONTH and give the president a recommendation on transferring prisoners to other countries or to max prisons here OR to hold them here. A decision of hearing terrorists in military court versus federal court for those “handful” (per Holder’s estimation) of detainees who will actually be tried must also be decided.I don’t think that most Americans know that we must also PAY countries to take these prisoners. If other countries refuse to take them?
We have already let at least three prisoners go recently, back to Saudi. In the early days after 9-11 it is my understanding that we once held as many as 700 at GTMO. AND along with the five high detainee prisoners who in, my opinion, MUST HAVE A FORMAL MILITARY HEARING.
However, what REALLY does disturb me the most about all of this is the fact that Attorney General Eric Holder, the chief law enforcement agent for the U.S. who will hand down the final decision to President Obama on how these detainees will be heard, tried, released or imprisoned was cousel with a law firm Covington and Burling that has a reputation of accepting clients like Halliburton and subsidiary KBR.
I was just skimming the partial article from The Washington Independent, 1/14/09, (Here) that gave me enough information to form an opinion about how Holder might “handle” this most serious decision: I CONSIDER HIS PAST EMPLOYMENT AND ROSTER OF CLIENTS A DIRECT CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE MATTER OF DECIDING “WHAT TO DO WITH THE GTMO DETAINEES … HOW ABOUT “NOT IN MY BACKYARD!
MR. HOLDER, MILITARY COMMISSION IS THE ONLY OPTION ACCEPTABLE FOR HIGH VALUE DETAINEES. LIFE OR DEATH SENTENCES…AND PRISON OUTSIDE THE BORDERS OF THE UNITED STATES.
I am totally against closing Gitmo. Please Senators and Congressmen, do something to change this idea and keep it open.
“I am a proud American and I oppose the closing of Guantanamo Bay”
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/18/i-am-a-proud-american-and-i-oppose-the-closing-of-guantanamo-bay/
Editor: Thanks, Stewart. If you scan up, you will see our thank you to Michelle, and down, you will also see a ping to Malkin’s site.
Thank you Mellisa! I guess Washington JUST doesent get it.
On behalf of my buddies who made the extrmeme sacrifice on 9/11, and our Armed Forces who have done the same protecting America…Keep the enemy locked upin GITMO.
Never forget 9/11, as for the politicians that did, I guess you had to be there to understand…You are a disgrace!
[...] As the Obama admin and DOJ continues to fumble on about preaching the closure of Gitmo, Families of the 9/11 victims. including Melissa Long met with the DOJ today. Melissa Long writes about who she learned a lot about what Obama is doing and what he has the members of the task forces working on. After doing her research and listening to the others present today she does not believe that there is a valid reason to close Guantanamo Bay. I agree with her. There is no valid reason. Aside from sending these terrorists off to Bemurda so they can swim around and eat ice cream on our tax dollars, whats the point? No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post) [...]
I am a proud American and I oppose the closing of Guantanamo Bay!
Former Marine 80-84:
100% with you too! We need to shout from the roof tops, this is not what the victims, their families, and military personel deserve! This is a slap in the face to all American citizens! Gitmo is becoming Cuban DisneyWorld thanks to Obama and his special interest groups.
100% with you! Keep the terrorists locked up!
If we can raise it rowdy enough, even the mainstream media can’t muffle us. I’m with you Melissa!
I’m with you Melissa!
I’m so sorry for your loss.
[...] Read Melissa’s open letter here and pass it on. [...]