Barack Obama

Report: Obama Admin Drafts Memo To Detain Terror Suspects Indefinitely

Zachary Roth | June 26, 2009, 6:21PM

The latest installment in the Obama administration's tendency to mimic the Bushies on war on terror tactics:

The Washington Post and Pro Publica report:

The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, has drafted an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.

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Guantanamo

TPMmuckraker Presents: No Direction Home -- One Uighur's Journey From East Turkistan To Palau, Via Gitmo

Zachary Roth | June 11, 2009, 1:53PM

Here at TPMmuckraker, we've been thinking about pitching an idea for a screenplay. It's sort of a Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay meets The Kite Runner meets Borat.

You have to put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist:

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New York Times

NYT Public Editor Comes Down On Paper For 'Flawed' Gitmo Story

Justin Elliott | June 8, 2009, 6:12PM

New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt has written a dissection of the paper's front-page story on Guantanamo "recidivism," concluding the May 21 piece was "seriously flawed and greatly overplayed."

The story, which originally ran under the headline "1 In 7 Detainees Rejoined Jihad, Pentagon Finds," was the subject of an "editors' note" Friday walking back several of its claims.

Hoyt writes today: the story "demonstrated again the dangers when editors run with exclusive leaked material in politically charged circumstances and fail to push back skeptically."

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New York Times

NYT: We Made Big Mistakes On Front-Page Gitmo Story, But We Did Not Get Spun

Justin Elliott | June 5, 2009, 3:54PM

The New York Times has published a lengthy "Editors' Note" rolling back key claims in its front-page story on Guantanamo "recidivism" last month, and the paper's Washington bureau chief concedes it wouldn't have been a Page 1 story if the paper realized the errors in the story when it ran.

"It's something that we thought we needed to explain to readers to amplify the story and to correct something we got wrong," Dean Baquet, NYT Washington bureau chief, told TPMmuckraker.

Baquet added that, given the factual errors, "I'm not sure it would have led the paper" but still believes that the piece was "a legitimate news story."

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Guantanamo

Gitmo Detainee Dead In "Apparent Suicide"

Zachary Roth | June 2, 2009, 6:33PM

A Guantanamo detainee has died in what the military are calling an "apparent suicide" -- and civil liberties groups are calling for action.

Guards found 31-year-old Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih, known as Al-Hanashi, unresponsive and not breathing in his cell Monday night, U.S. military officials announced, according to the AP.

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