ACLU Rejects Vice President Cheney’s Praise Of Guantánamo

NEW YORK – Despite years of legal setbacks and international controversy, Vice President Dick Cheney this week heaped praise upon the maligned Guantánamo prison camp and military commission system, saying that “Guantánamo has been very well run” and should remain open indefinitely.

The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:

“After the failure and repudiation of President Bush’s Guantánamo and torture policies in American courts and in the world community, it is stunning that Vice President Cheney still sings the praises of these failed policies. Cheney’s fear-mongering is now targeted at a new president who has vowed to make change and give us back an America we can be proud of. Cheney’s advice to President-elect Obama must be taken with a mountain of salt, given its source. The current administration’s torture policies and fundamentally flawed military commissions make a mockery of the Constitution and violate America’s commitment to human rights. Contrary to the vice president’s opinion, these detainees should be prosecuted in U.S. military or civilian courts that are fully equipped to handle complex national security cases. We are confident that President-elect Obama has wiser counsel advising him than the outgoing vice president when it comes to Guantánamo. It is time to restore our role as a nation of due process, decency and the rule of law.”

An ACLU video, along with a petition calling on President-elect Obama to shut down Guantánamo and the military commissions, is online at: closegitmo.com