tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post4921577352591299190..comments2024-03-26T19:25:43.970-07:00Comments on South Asia Investor Review: Cost of Afghan War: $50 Million Per Dead TalibanRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-22897607757264790202022-01-14T14:23:00.457-08:002022-01-14T14:23:00.457-08:00Reps. Price, Schiff, Omar Lead Members of Congress...Reps. Price, Schiff, Omar Lead Members of Congress in Calling for Immediate Closure of Guantanamo Bay<br />August 5, 2021 Press Release<br /><br />https://price.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/reps-price-schiff-omar-lead-members-congress-calling-immediate-closure<br /><br />WASHINGTON, DC (August 5, 2021) – On Wednesday, Congressman David Price (D-NC), Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) delivered a letter, signed by 75 Members of Congress, to President Biden calling for the immediate closure of the prison at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. <br /><br />Closing the facility has been a long-stated goal for the U.S. government. During his 2008 campaign, former President Obama promised to permanently close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Yet at the time of his departure from office in 2017, the prison held 55 detainees. Today, the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is in increasing disrepair as its infrastructure deteriorates, posing an imminent health and safety risks to prisoners and guards alike. On February 12, 2021, the Biden administration launched a formal review of the prison at Guantanamo Bay with the intention of ultimately closing the facility. On July 19, 2021, the Biden administration transferred its first detainee out of the Guantanamo Bay prison, who had previously been recommended for transfer in 2016, but continued to be held under the Trump administration. <br /><br />“The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has been a stain on our country's credibility and international standing, and with only 39 remaining detainees, the exorbitant cost and unworkable commission process are simply unsustainable,” said Congressman David Price. “Even in our darkest moments, we must always uphold core American values, including respect for the rule of law, due process, and human rights. It is time we work together to finally close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.” <br /><br /><br />--------<br /><br />We write in strong support of your stated goal to close the prison at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. We share your belief that after nearly two decades and tremendous expense, it is time to close the prison and seek prompt resolutions for the cases of the remaining detainees. We ask that as you take the steps necessary to finally close the prison, you act immediately to further reduce its population, ensure that the remaining detainees are treated humanely, and increase the transparency of military commission proceedings at the Guantanamo detention facility. <br /><br />The prison at Guantanamo has held nearly 800 prisoners throughout its history but currently holds only 39 men, many aging and increasingly infirm. According to reports, the prison costs over $500 million per year to operate, at a staggering annual cost of $13 million per prisoner, over 350 times the cost of incarcerating a prisoner at a maximum-security facility in the United States. And after nearly two decades, and numerous efforts at reform, the military commission process remains dysfunctional. Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-8364546047008701412019-03-08T16:39:19.089-08:002019-03-08T16:39:19.089-08:00#IlhanOmar slams #Obama's message of 'hope...#IlhanOmar slams #Obama's message of 'hope and change' as a 'mirage'. With ‘caging of kids’ at U.S.-#Mexico border, ‘droning of countries around the world’ Obama "operated within the same fundamentally broken framework as his Republican successor” https://fxn.ws/2tYH0Y2 #FoxNews<br /><br />Omar is then quoted as saying: “We can’t be only upset with Trump… His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than he was.<br /><br />“And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.”<br /><br />The comments came after the passage Thursday of a broad anti-bigotry resolution prompted by Omar's prior comments about Israel. The resolution and the drama surrounding its passage exposed chasms in the Democratic caucus regarding Israel and marked a coup of sorts for a tight-knit band of House freshmen who – in a matter of hours – were able to shift the spotlight away from Omar’s allegedly anti-Semitic remarks and refocus on issues like Islamophobia and pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.<br /><br />“The week was supposed to start off with a rebuke of Omar's anti-Semitic comments and it ended up turning into a long list of other hateful actions,” House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News on Friday, saying the final product “fell short of addressing the real problem.”<br /><br />But the broadside delivered at Obama is highly unusual for any Democrat, especially one who has been in the House for two months and has already ticked off party elders with her outspokenness.<br /><br />DEM FROSH TURN TABLES ON ANTI-SEMITISM REBUKE, SHIFT SPOTLIGHT TO ISLAMOPHOBIA AND AIPAC POWER<br /><br />The House resolution, following a week of Democratic infighting over the language, was approved on a 407-23 vote. The measure originally was drafted in response to Omar, a freshman Democrat from Minnesota, suggesting last week that Israel supporters want U.S. lawmakers to pledge “allegiance” to the Jewish state – which was widely condemned as echoing the age-old “dual loyalties” smear against Jewish politicians.<br /><br />Yet after Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced a rebellion in the ranks amid concerns the resolution would unfairly single out Omar, a Muslim, and increase security threats against her (she was recently the subject of an inflammatory poster at the West Virginia capitol falsely tying her to the 9/11 attacks), the resolution was overhauled.<br /><br />The result was a broad rebuke of bigotry, including anti-Semitism as well as “anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities” perpetrated by white supremacists and others. The resolution condemned “dual loyalty” accusations, but did not mention Omar by name.<br /><br />The fight exposed deep divisions in the party. But on the 2020 campaign trail, heavyweights came to Omar's side. Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was raised Jewish, defended Omar, arguing that “we must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com