10th Anniversary of Delahunty/Yoo memo. 2 days before Guantanamo Opened.
little known memo that came before the John Yoo torture memo.
unlike John Yoo, Robert Delahunty had experience and maturity to know memos do matter and have consequences.
THE MEMO:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB127/02.01.09.pdf
Jan 9, 2002 - Department of Justice memo concerning the bearing of international laws prohibiting torture on President Bush and the U.S. military
The memo, entitled "Application of Treaties and Laws to al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees,"
was written by lawyers John Yoo and Robert J. Delahunty. *
It states: "Any customary international law of armed conflict in no way binds, as a legal matter, the President or the U.S. Armed Forces concerning the detention or trial of members of al Qaeda and the Taliba." The memo concludes that suspected terrorist detainees can be prosecuted for violating these same laws: "We do not believe that these courts would lose jurisdiction to try members of al Qaeda or the Taliban militia for violations of the laws of war, even though we have concluded that the laws of war have no binding effect on the President."
* Delahunty is Prof of Law at MN's St Thomas University. (can you imagine the twisted logic of his students ?)
(how ironic it is a Catholic University)
http://www.stthomas.edu/law/faculty/bios/delahuntyrobert.htm
Deputy General Counsel at the White House Office of Homeland Security in 2002/2003.
He spent most of his legal career before joining the UST faculty, however, at the Office of Legal Counsel, where he was made Special Counsel and a member of the Senior Executive Service in 1992. His work and writing at the Office of Legal Counsel focused on the constitutional law of foreign relations, Presidential war powers, public international law, treaties, and immigration law. His usual clients included the Office of the Counsel to the President, the Office of the Legal Adviser to the National Security Council, the Office of Management & Budget, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Office of the Legal Adviser to the State Department.
Since 2003 Minnesotans have called for Catholic University St Thomas to fire Prof Delahunty and sadly the refused to do so and continue to support him.
So today 28 of us marched through the Skyways of downtown Minneapolis. We wore orange jumpsuits and blackhoods and pinned to our front and back were either names of those held at Guantanamo or somethings that were done to them.
(from website: www.cageprisoners.com/)
We walked silently through the Skyways as a couple of us handed out flyers of why were marching.. below is the what was on the flyers. *
Most in the skyway walked past us taking quick sideways glances and not taking a flyer. Only about 20% took flyers from us.
We were young and old.. students and retirees..Veterans and lawyers..... some took the day off (like me).
It was stream'd live on Occupy MN website.. and the Uptake, Bill Soren also video tapped it and interviewed individuals.
There was no news coverage. I do look forward to Bill's clip which usually takes a day or two to post.
We walked to St Thomas Law School to go to their library to read Delhunty's memo but we were refused entrance.
and 3 squad cars showed up with 5 MN police officers. I asked were they here to arrest War Criminal Professor Robert Delahunty and did they not take an oath to uphold the constitution.
We then went to our scheduled vigil on the corner of 11th ST and LaSalle.
We had 3 large banners that said. Close Guantanmo. Disbar Delahunty. Torture is Wrong.
The Spokesperson, Mr Chato came out to talk to us. Like always he gives us the empty excuses of why St Thomas continues to employee Robert Delanty and allow him to teach their students about the Constitution.
It just seems incredible after 10 years Guantanamo is still open, and that no one has been held accountable and MN continues to tolerate someone like this misguided Prof Robert Delahunty is teaching at St Thomas Law School.
* (what was on our flyer)
At 11:00, we will begin a silent march through the skyways to St. Thomas University School of Law.
Once at the law school, we will go to the library, to browse through some of the many recent books written by John Yoo and St. Thomas’s own Professor Delahunty, and to offer our own opinions regarding the legitimate use of presidential power and the treatment of prisoners. At noon, there will be a demonstration with banners and protest speeches outside of STU (11th Street and LaSalle Ave).
Why St. Thomas?
Robert Delahunty is currently a professor at St. Thomas University School of law.
Prior to becoming a law professor at UST, Delahunty worked in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justidice, for president George W. Bush. In that capacity, John Yoo and Robert Delahunty wrote ‘legal’ opinions which gave the Bush administration cover for the harsh treatment of prisoners, which was being practiced.
Why Jan 9?
Ten years ago, on Jan 9, 2002, John Yoo and Robert Delahunty wrote the infamous memo which argued that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to the treatment of prisoners who were Al Qaeda or Taliban or “non-state” or rogue state combatants. This memo had the cornerstone effect of providing a green light for the harsh treatment of detainees in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and CIA “black sites” worldwide.(now also Somalia )
Why do we march?
Guantanamo is still open, 10 years after the first prisoners were sent there Jan 11, 2002. There still has been no accounting for or prosecution in high places of the war crimes, including torture and waging aggressive war.
This failure to prosecute is a crime in itself, because of the treaty obligations of the U.S., including the Convention Against Torture, which we have signed. Torture is still practiced in Afghanistan by our client state military forces, with our tacit knowledge and approval. Abuse of prisoners is very much with us in the U.S.
A most notable example is the abuse of the whistle blower prisoner Bradley Manning. Our rights are under attack. The brand new Defense Authorization Act, which allows citizens accused of terrorism to be locked up indefinitely without trial is just one example. Additional context is extreme militarism and impending war with Iran. We can’t fight all the battles at once. This time we are just saying torture is always wrong. Torture doesn’t work. Torturers should be held accountable.
