I voted for Obama in the general election. I also voted for him in the primary, because the polls correctly showed that he could defeat McBush--I mean McCain. I think that Obama qualifies as a not-Bush. Problem is: The U.S.A. has moved so far in the neo-Fascist direction that it'll take time to completely undo the damage. To a certain extent, we have Bushism without Bush. The plight of prisoners at Bagram Air Base is a case in point.

Some of them were captured on the battlefield. Of these prisoners, some saw themselves as patriots fighting against foreign invaders. Some were poor people who couldn't make a living in the private sector. Others saw themselves as fighting for the greater glory of Islam. Anyway these prisoners deserve the full rights of POWs under international law.

Another category of prisoners were innocent people who were accused of terrorism--but with no real evidence--and turned in for bounties paid by Uncle Sam. There may even be some real terrorists as well! Both of these categories of people deserve due process of law.



"No US rights' for Bagram inmates

Detainees being held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan cannot use US courts to challenge their detention, the US says.

The justice department ruled that some 600 so-called enemy combatants at Bagram have no constitutional rights.

Most have been arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of waging a terrorist war against the US.

The move has disappointed human rights lawyers who had hoped the Obama administration would take a different line to that of George W Bush.

If you want to read the rest of the article, here's a link. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south...7903005.stm