Not acceptable
Every one and their dog is talking about Cully Stimson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs ‘ serious faux pas the other day when on a radio show he listed off a bunch of high powered law firms doing pro bono work for the Gitmo detainees and said
“Each apparently has attorneys providing pro bono, or no-charge, legal representation to captives at the U.S. Navy base, where the Bush administration is holding some 395 men and teens as so-called enemy combatants.”
“I think quite honestly when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists that hit their bottom line in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms.”
Now I don’t know how you parse English but the only meaning I can get from that is if you are a big corporation using these legal firms you should drop them unless they stop representing “terrorists”. There was nothing subtle about his meaning. Nothing hidden. If there is any subtext to it at all it’s an inference that these law firms, by doing this work for the prisoners (and apparently it an even more egregious crime for being pro bono, else why mention it) are themselves supporting terrorists and that if you Big Corporation use these law firms then so will you.
Anyone in his position should be sworn to protect the constitution. If not they should at least be aware of the meaning of the constitution and how it came about and why, but then that brings up the question of quality education in the US today. Something that is practically non existent. The pentagon’s role in the US is to protect the implementation of the constitution (i.e. the country) via armed force when necessary. It’s role is not to undermine the constitution as this person clearly intends to.
This person needs to be fired and banned from working for the government again, ever. He does not understand what he works for. So today we see that he has apologized:
An Apology to Detainees’ Attorneys
Wednesday, January 17, 2007; A18
During a radio interview last week, I brought up the topic of pro bono work and habeas corpus representation of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Regrettably, my comments left the impression that I question the integrity of those engaged in the zealous defense of detainees in Guantanamo. I do not.
I believe firmly that a foundational principle of our legal system is that the system works best when both sides are represented by competent legal counsel. I support pro bono work, as I said in the interview. I was a criminal defense attorney in two of my three tours in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. I zealously represented unpopular clients — people charged with crimes that did not make them, or their attorneys, popular in the military. I believe that our justice system requires vigorous representation.
I apologize for what I said and to those lawyers and law firms who are representing clients at Guantanamo. I hope that my record of public service makes clear that those comments do not reflect my core beliefs.
CULLY STIMSON
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs
Bullshit. Absolute chickenhawk conservative public relations crapola. He didn’t mean a word of that pro forma apology as it absolutely contradicts what he said in the interview. There’s no gray area here. It was for appearance sake only and that’s all the punishment he will receive in this administration because in reality what he said is what they truly believe. If you offer any assistance to those they have labeled as terrorists, if you disagree with them, if you stand up for basic human rights (habeas corpus for example) then you yourself are a terrorist. They’ve made that abundantly clear over the last 4 years. The press should not sit back and accept this apology. they need to point out that he is a liar and demand the end of his career at the very least.
