Opinion: Poor Unfortunate Sap Convicted by Kangaroo Court

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The thirty-seven year old Yemeni, Salim Hamdan, was 'convicted' of 'providing material support to terrorism' - in layman's terms - guilt by association. He will be sentenced later, possibly to life imprisonment or, if it tickles American fancy, stoning at midnight. Representatives of the American empire had stated prior to the 'verdict' that they intended to keep the suspect imprisoned regardless of the outcome. This predicament would have left little room for hope as it means at best, inordinate imprisonment and at worst indefinite imprisonment. Military 'prosecutors' insisted they would hold him until the 'end of the war on (of) terrorism'. Analysts believe the end will come swiftly- likely one to two seconds after the collapse of the American empire. Those same experts insist that the raging arrogance and pathological criminality of the current American administration coupled with the laissez-faire attitude of a considerable part of the American people will ensure this day will come sooner rather than later.

Hamdan has been held at Guantanamo Bay since his capture in Afghanistan shortly after the American invasion in October of 2001. He was originally held on the same charges he was ultimately found guilty of: "conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism" until the U.S Supreme Court found the military tribunals set up to try him and other inmates at the 'island paradise gulag' to be in violation of the 'Uniform Code of Military Justice' and article three of the Third Geneva Convention. Undeterred by the judgment handed down by the ultimate legal authority of the land, the Bush administration made a mockery of the U.S constitution and the rule of law by weaseling its way right around it through the passing of the 'Military Commissions Act', also known as the 'happy fun-time liberty and freedom to torture humanity act'. This ensured the administration could continue to kidnap people worldwide and torture them indefinitely before condemning them to death them under false pretenses. Shortly thereafter, he was deemed an 'enemy combatant' and stripped of all rights guaranteed under American and international law and the charges were re-applied. The 'trial' was riddled with trickery employed by the prosecution including the withholding of key documents such as ones purported to show examples of sexual interrogation used against Hamdan by female interrogators, missing records and the incorporation of 'evidence' used from testimony obtained under duress.

The mental state of the accused was also in doubt as years of solitary confinement had taken a toll on him. As the judgment bell was sounded, the prisoner was seen cupping his face with his open hands and heard openly weeping. Maybe he was ruing the day he ever chose to cooperate for a full seven years with military investigators, or possibly he was crying out for his wife or six and eight year old daughters, one of which has never met him. Maybe he was wondering if life in a dark hole was worth the $200/month salary he earned driving 'el-Sheikh' around. Perhaps he was just learning what American 'Democracy' served at the end of a thrust, bloody bayonet tastes like.