Big news - Is Obama, the Commander in Chief, being denied information by the Pentagon?

[ck4829]

Lawyers for Binyam Mohamed face the incredible prospect of a six-month jail sentence in America after writing a letter to President Obama detailing their client's allegations of torture by US agents.

The privilege review team – officials from the US department of defence who monitor and censor communication between Guantánamo prisoners and their lawyers – have previously been accused of using their powers to suppress evidence of the abuse and mistreatment of detainees.

Clive Stafford Smith, director of legal charity Reprieve, and his colleague Ahmed Ghappour have been summoned to appear before a Washington court on May 11 after a complaint was made by the privilege review team.

Stafford Smith had written to the president after judges in the UK ruled against the release of US evidence detailing Mohamed's alleged torture at Guantánamo. The letter asked the president to reconsider the US position and urged him to release the evidence into the public domain. He attached a memo summarising the case because his US security clearance gives him access to the classified material. In order to comply with classification guidelines, the memo did not identify individual officers by name or specify locations of the abuse.

He and Gappour submitted the memo to the privilege team for clearance but the memo was redacted to just the title, leaving the president unable to read it. Stafford Smith included the redacted copy of the memo in his letter to illustrate the extent to which it had been censored. He described it as a "bizarre reality". "You, as commander in chief, are being denied access to material that would help prove that crimes have been committed by US personnel. This decision is being made by the very people who you command."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/apr/02/torture-human-rights

Am I reading this right, someone in the Pentagon is restricting what the President sees?

[Ilsa]

1. Heads should roll. If Gates doesn't do it, Obama should remove Gates. nt

[BlooInBloo]

2. They were trying to prevent the whistle from being blown in the first place...

Not refusing an order from the President.

[Raine1967]

7. Am I misreading the article tho?

The people who tried to blow the whistle may be going to Jail while the DOD is keeping information from the president?

[BlooInBloo]

8. That sounds about correct.

[closeupready]

3. No excuse for this whatsoever.

The President must not be withheld ANYTHING.

[lazer47]

4. He needs to change the Name from Department of Defense

to the Department of Defiance

[bdamomma]

5. cheney still pulling strings??

[Hydra]

6. Possibly

But remember Cuo Bono- the "Defense" department has had a lot of free rein for a LONG time. They're not giving that up, willingly.

[Fumesucker]

9. Plausible deniability..

Happens all the time.. ("I don't wanna' know any details")

[Marrah_G]

10. I don't know how much of that I believe

The President has the highest clearance in the country. Our President does not seem to me to be someone who could be pushed around by the Pentagon like that.

[chimpymustgo]

14. But the "hold-overs" could still be keeping stuff away from him. Wouldn't surprise me at ALL.

[bluestateguy]

11. Some little neo-con holdover from the Bush Administration

These people need to be removed from the Pentagon.

[redqueen]

12. Is this the work of Cheney's moles?

Sorry, stay behinds?

[zipplewrath]

13. No, you're not

A guy with a security clearance wrote a memo which he was going to release into the public domain (because he wasn't sending it via classified channels). He submitted it for review prior to release, and it was completely redacted. He released the redacted version, and someone is claiming that was a violation of his security clearance (dubious at best, it's why they redact in the first place). The president has access to the classified information that the memo contained, merely through channels authorized to have and transmit that information. Having a clearance does not automatically authorize you to transmit information, actually, even through approved channels. You must also have the authority to transfer that information to other entities.

[Igel]

17. Better than I'd have phrased it. n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. This is a video concerning the President and not being privvy to certain classified info

Although it discusses UFOs, it discusses how the President is out of the loop.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=125&topic_id=237369

[ensho]

16. I think a power struggle is going on

pentagon wants to run the show - war industry Barons are having a fit thinking they won't be able to stuff their pockets with as much money as during smirk's rule.

down with Barons