Guantanamo Review Hears Accused Militants

[Khephra]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Two alleged members of the ousted Taliban regime and a man accused of links to the al-Qaida network appeared Saturday before review tribunals at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an official said.

All three men spoke at their hearings, but the military has provided no transcripts of statements made at the review tribunals. No names or nationalities were released.

The first prisoner, a 36-year-old member of Taliban security forces, was accused of passing messages between senior al-Qaida members, said Navy Lt. Gary Ross, a spokesman for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. He also allegedly attended meetings with top-level al-Qaida members.

The tribunals also heard from a 21-year-old member of the Taliban accused of forcing others at gunpoint to fight against U.S. and Afghan forces, Ross said. The prisoner allegedly tried to throw a hand grenade at U.S. forces to escape capture.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Guantanamo-Review-Tribunals.html

[knowbody0]

1. how dare they defend themselves!

barbaric savages! off with their feet

[daleo]

2. How exactly was this a crime?

"The tribunals also heard from a 21-year-old member of the Taliban accused of forcing others at gunpoint to fight against U.S. and Afghan forces, Ross said. The prisoner allegedly tried to throw a hand grenade at U.S. forces to escape capture."

I believe the Taliban was the internationally recognized government at that time. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan. Apparently, this person threw a grenade at soldiers of an invading army. That sounds like an act of war, not a crime.

P.S. I don't have any great love for religious fundamentalists of any stripe, including the Taliban. But, war is war, and throwing a grenade at soldiers of an invading army seems like an action well within the rules of war.