Levin calls for inquiry on terrorist's(K.S.M.'s)torture claim(issues a joint statement w/ Graham)

[maddezmom]

Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Accusations made by the chief planner of the September 11 terrorist attacks that he was tortured while in U.S. custody should be fully investigated, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin said today, six days after he and a Republican colleague witnessed the detainee making the statements during a dramatic hearing.

Levin, D-Mich., and Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., watched by video from a nearby room during the hearing on the status of Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, an al Qaida operative. Muhammad admitted during the hearing that he led planning and training for the 9-11 attacks and other terrorist acts against the United States.

The senators' presence at the hearing, held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was first reported on Friday by The Washington Post. Neither the lawmakers nor the military had disclosed their presence at the hearing, which was closed to the media and other observers.

In a joint statement, Levin and Graham said Muhammad presented a written statement alleging he was mistreated in U.S. custody before arriving at Guantanamo Bay, a statement the senators said was made part of the classified record of the hearing. "Allegations of prisoner mistreatment must be taken seriously and properly investigated. To do otherwise would reflect poorly on our nation," Levin and Graham said in their statement.

more:http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070316/UPDATE/703160437

[Phredicles]

1. Thank goodness SOMEone's taking this seriously;

You sure wouldn't know anything might be amiss from the press.

Incidentally, if the pirvate sector is always so much better than the government, why do the media these days so often remind me of Pravda?

[sabra]

2. a big RECOMMEND!

[Virginia Dare]

3. OMG, the cards are falling one by one...

this is getting good!

[KoKo]

4. But this last paragraph contradicts their initial statement...

"This case represents an important milestone in the War on Terror," Levin and Graham said in their statement. "It was apparent to us that (Muhammad) wanted to use the tribunal process to detail his role in 9/11 and many other terror plots and to record for history the part he has played in a war that he has unabashedly waged. It was apparent that (Muhammad) views himself as a warrior, motivated by religious teachings, and seeks his place in history."

Maybe the revelation that he was tortured didn't come to light until after the initial hearing where they first made this statement. :shrug:

[ryanmuegge]

5. Ahh, fuck Lindsey Graham

[maddezmom]

6. sure, but Levin is one of the best guys we have

:hi: