The ACLU - Still Working for Freedom During the War on Terror

They have been accused of every nasty unpatriotic act imaginable and yet the ACLU has enjoyed the support of Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and General Douglas MacArthur. The threat to our nation is not simply another 9/11, the threat is that in taking away the rights of others, we may well destroy our own rights, the very thing we are fighting for. Here is an excerpt from the analysis conducted by the ACLU on the documents they obtained from the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command:

One of the most troubling files relates to the suspected murder of a detainee held in Tikrit. On August 8, 2003, American forces arrested Obed Hethere Radad during a raid. According to the documents, on September 11, 2003 an Army specialist shot and killed Radad without any advance warning. The CID ultimately determined that there was probable cause to charge the specialist with murder.

However, the perpetrator never faced a murder charge, or any court-martial at all. The Army delayed four days before notifying CID about the incident. In the meantime, a commander convened the military equivalent of a grand jury, known as an Article 32 hearing, and charged the specialist with voluntary manslaughter. Unsurprisingly, given the lack of time to develop evidence, the proceeding recommended against court-martial. The specialist was demoted to the rank of private and discharged from the service before the CID’s investigation even began.

"We are concerned that commanders short-circuited the investigation and prosecution of the Radad killing, rather than seeking full and fair justice," said Omar C. Jadwat, a staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project.