The first contested military-commissions trial under the Obama administration is set to begin this week, after the defendant, Omar Khadr, pleaded not guilty on Monday to killing a U.S. serviceman during a firefight in Afghanistan. Omar Khadr, now 23, is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a Delta Force medic, among other charges. A jury-like military panel to be seated this week will decide whether Khadr, born in Toronto to a family linked to Osama bin Laden, is a war criminal—or himself a “child soldier” victimized by war. In a second case resuming here, a military judge began seating a jury-like panel of military officers to recommend a sentence for Ibrahim al-Qosi, a former al Qaeda cook and bodyguard who in a deal with prosecutors pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism. But the trial of Khadr may raise some of the most difficult issues surrounding military commissions. Khadr’s father, Ahmed Said Khadr, an Egyptian-born Canadian citizen, was closely identified with extremist Islamic causes. He became a bin Laden confidant in the 1980s, and in 1993 moved his family to Afghanistan, where U.S. authorities say he funneled money to al Qaeda under the cover of charity work. Omar Khadr was captured after a July 27, 2002, firefight in the Afghan village of Ab Khail. Among other charges, the Pentagon alleged that Mr. Khadr threw a grenade that killed Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer. Aside from denying the allegations, Khadr’s lawyers have challenged the premise of the prosecution. They contend that Khadr should be considered a “child soldier” who is himself a war victim, rather than a war criminal. Last week, Khadr’s military defense lawyer, Lt. Col. Jon Jackson, asked the Supreme Court to stay proceedings while he pursued another challenge to the commission’s structure. Col. Jackson contends commissions are unconstitutional because they subject foreign citizens to a lower standard of justice than U.S. citizens would receive if charged with identical offenses. The justices declined to stay proceedings, but Bravin writes that the issue is likely to arise on appeal if Khadr is convicted.
II. SMH - We have proof on Bashir say police
Indonesian authorities insist they have compelling proof that Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was instrumental in the formation of a new terrorist group, expressing confidence he will not evade serious charges as he has done in the past. They are also confirmed that Australia's Jakarta embassy - struck by a car bomb in 2004 - was one of many potential targets of the new cell. Bashir - notorious for co-founding the militant group Jemaah Islamiah - was arrested on Monday following raids at the weekend that uncovered a bomb-making factory and led to the arrests of five of his associates. ''They [police] have very strong evidence against him,'' said Ansyaad Mbai, the head of Indonesia's counter-terrorism agency. Bashir has been investigated for his links to the terror cell after its training camp was discovered and disrupted in Aceh in February. Police have alleged Bashir not only organised the funding for the terrorist cell and the camp but also appointed the renowned terrorist Dulmatin as its field commander. According to the Indonesia daily Kompas, Bashir was shown a video of the military-style facility before the February raids and told by his associate Ubeid that it was proof that his money was well spent. Ubeid, who was a member of Bashir's new organisation Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid and knew the slain terrorist mastermind Noordin Top, was arrested earlier this year. It is believed there are at least five witnesses whom police have convinced to testify against Bashir. Bashir is yet to be charged and police have until Monday to do so. [Bashir] says he is innocent.
III. JPOST - Lebanese general faces spy charges
A former Lebanese army general and Christian party member has been charged by a Lebanese military prosecutor with spying for Israel, according to a Reuters report. According to the report, Fayez Karam was a member of the Free Patriotic Movement, headed by Michel Aoun, and was the first politician to be charged in a string of espionage cases that have recently hit Lebanon. Karam's charge sheet said he was accused of dealing with "the enemy's intelligence and meeting their officers abroad, and giving them information by phone" and providing information about the Free Patriotic Movement, Hizbullah and other groups to Israel. He is alleged to have received weapons and money for the intelligence he provided. Karam will face the death penalty if convicted. He was arrested by the Lebanese intelligence directorate two weeks ago, according to an Al Akhbar newspaper report last Tuesday. Lebanon's Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar has said that his ministry had collected 150 cases of spying for Israel and was planning to raise the issue with the UN Security Council. “The list cites some 150 cases which the law has managed to put its hand on, [including people] of all communities and denominations,” Najjar told the London-based Arab daily al- Hayat, adding that it included findings that were “hardly believable.”
IV. EXAMINER - Legal experts: no Palestinian Arab "right of return"
Law professors Ruth Gavison and Yaffa Zilbershatz handed Israeli PM Netanyahu a paper explaining that there is no legal underpinning for the alleged “right of return” of descendants of Palestinian Arab refugees. If there were, they would have gone to court over it. If Israel grants even a “symbolic” recognition of it, it opens the door to full recognition of it, massive lawsuits would be brought. The Jewish population in Israel would be swamped by an enemy population. If, as some suggest, Israel offers the option with the “understanding” that it would not be implemented, it opens the door to a breach of the understanding. Arabs may choose entry into Israel no matter how much money they offered as compensation. Even if most Arabs did not choose to enter Israel now, their descendants might. The Jewish people would lose its self-determination. You see, the “return” may be brought up as part of peace negotiations, but once it were to be accorded as a “right,” it would be independent of peace negotiations. A right is a right. Incidentally, the territorial negotiations involve the war of 1967. That is a separate matter from the “return” issue, which involves the war of 1948. The refugee issue arose because the Arabs refused the partition plan proposed by the UN. How does the world treat other refugee problems? The world wants disputes settled, rather than perpetuate problems by returning refugees to contested countries. Consider the recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. The court took up the matter of Greek refugees expelled from northern Cyprus in 1974. “…five months ago it ruled that due to the time that has passed, it would be wrong to rectify the situation by allowing them to return to their homes and expelling those who currently live in the area.” Some people ask why, if Jews can return to Israel after 2,000 years of exile, Arabs may not after only 60 years. Like many analogies and comparisons, the logic is flawed. Jews do not have such a right, the State of Israel legislated the privilege. Any Arab state could do the same for Arabs in its own state. UNRWA retards Palestinian Arab assimilation and thus that type of solution. It holds that former refugees in Jordan, who obtained Jordanian citizenship, remain refugees. [Actually, Jordan is in Palestine, and other displaced ethnic groups are not considered refugees if they still are in their countries. People of other ethnic groups born abroad are no longer considered refugees. Why should Palestinian Arabs be treated differently?] UNRWA upholds the refugee status of terrorists who commit crimes against humanity.
[PHOTO SLIDE SHOW] Wildfires are raging across Russia and frantic efforts of thousands of volunteers have yet to quell the flames. More than 800 Russian wildfires have been reported since they first ignited nearly a week ago. The wildfires, a result of the country's worst heat wave in recorded history, have claimed 52 lives thus far and left more than 3,000 people homeless. A man stands in a forest ablaze near the village Golovanovo, in the Ryazan region on August 5. Russians and tourists wear facemasks to protect themselves from forest-fire smog that hangs over the Red Square in Moscow on August 6. The heavy smoke contains toxins and is causing alarm over public health. A man stares at the conflagration near the village of Murmino on August 5. Currently, thousands of firefighters, soldiers, and volunteers are working around the clock to keep the wildfires from spreading. According to some officials, 10,000 firefighters aren't nearly enough to control the blaze. A car scorched by the wildfires sits in front of a destroyed house in the village of Mokhovoye, just 130 kilometers outside of Moscow on July 31. A man sprays water on the still-smoldering shrubbery near Golovanovo, a village in the Ryazan region, on August 5. A passerby rides his motorcycle through the scorched remains of the village of Kriusha, in the Ryazan region, on August 5. In the Ryazan region one of the many volunteers attempting to control the blaze, watches as smoke pours across the forest floor on August 5. A woman wears a face mask to protect herself from forest-fire smoke that hangs over central Moscow on August 6. Russian men shovel dirt on smoldering embers in the village of Murmino on August 5. A grove of trees is consumed by a blazing fire near the village of Dolginino on August 4. Men rush to create a fire-break as teh flames approach the village of Dolginino on August 4. A volunteer forest-fire fighter pauses to survey the blaze engulfing nearby trees. A Russian woman stands beside the ruins of her burnt out home in Voronezh on August 2. A man walks a herd of goats past a line of military vehicles transporting soldiers to fight forest fires in Ryazanovka on August 1. Russian police trainees clean up forest debris in the woods near Voronezh on August 3. A Russian man walks past still smoking trees and branches in a forest near the village of Golovanovo, Ryazan region, on August 5.
VI. BOSTONHERALD - Texas Governor tells Obama border security "clearly insufficient"
After greeting President Barack Obama with a handshake at Austin Bergstrom International Airport on Monday, Republican Gov. Rick Perry presented Obama with a four-page letter calling for tougher federal enforcement on the violence-ridden southern border. In the "Dear Mr. President" letter, Perry said Obama’s recent deployment of 286 National Guard personnel to the state’s 1,200-mile border with Mexico is "clearly insufficient" and called for "greater resources" to help protect Texas from the threat of spillover violence from Mexico’s drug wars. Perry has asked the administration for at least 1,000 National Guard troops as well unmanned surveillance drones. "The purpose of this letter is to reiterate the dire threat amassing on our southern border in the form of international drug cartels and transnational gangs and to again request sufficient federal resources to combat the increasing violence," Perry wrote. "Absent stronger federal action, it’s only a matter of time before violence affects more innocent Americans." Perry, who has criticized the administration on a litany of issues from health care to the economy, requested the meeting with the president several weeks ago after Obama announced the National Guard deployment. Republicans and Perry’s campaign organization have seemingly delighted in reminding voters that Perry’s Democratic gubernatorial opponent, former Houston Mayor Bill White, had no plans to meet the president during his daylong visit to Austin and Dallas. As Perry met the president, he pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to Valerie B. Jarrett, one of the president’s senior advisers.
VII. THAINDIAN - "60 Minutes" Reveals The Plight Of Orthodox Christians In Turkey
In the latest episode of ‘60 minutes’ the audience found themselves shocked to learn that one of the most important Christian leaders of the world feels ‘crucified’ living in a country which is Muslim dominated. With as many as 300 million followers world wide Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew feels that the future of the Church in Turkey is threatened as there have been attacks over the years on the Christian properties as well as anti-Christian movements. On the show, correspondent Bob Simpson interviewed the Patriarch on the issues that plague Christendom in Turkey. The audience were also made aware of the historical importance of Christianity in Turkey. Bob Simpson asked the question that why is such an important leader as him living in a country that has complete Muslim dominance. To this Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said that the Christians were here before the Muslims arrived and the city signified the beginning of the Church of Constantinople. The episode threw light on the forgotten history of the city of Istanbul which was earlier known as Constantinople. Considered one of the most important cities in world history in terms of history and religion, ‘60 Minutes’ showed the changes that have come over the years. Empty churches and lack of recognition of the minority religion by the government is almost threatening to destroy the very foundations of Christendom. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is the leader of 300 Million of the world’s orthodox Christians, said that he is adamant to stay in Turkey because he felt that the orthodox Christians loved the country they were born in and want to die. At the turn of the century there were as many as 2 million orthodox Christians but now there are merely 4000 left. To watch the full interview, please click here.