Report: Obama Prepares to Ramp Up Gitmo Tribunals

Block on 'New Cases' Expected to Be Lifted Soon

Having signed into law the bill that would block his promise to close Guantanamo Bay just weeks ago, President Obama is said to be moving forward with a plan to dramatically increase the use of “military commissions” against the detainees at the facility.

Though the administration has allowed some tribunals to continue they formally blocked any “new” cases from being started almost immediately after the inauguration. That order will be lifted soon, according to officials, clearing the way for new tribunals.

President Obama had initially made it a point to emphasize trials in civilian courts for detainees, but having lost the Ghailani trial, with the detainee acquitted on all 284 terror-related charges, he appears to have cooled to the idea of actual trials and is now keen to return to the Bush-era kangaroo courts.

Still, even the stacked deck of the military tribunals is more than many detainees will ever see, as President Obama has also backed plans to detain many of the detainees for life without ever charging them with anything, on the basis that they simply couldn’t win a court battle.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.