The New York Times reported on Saturday:

Charles D. Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said in an interview last week that he was dismayed that lawyers at many of the nation"s top firms were representing prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that the firms" corporate clients should consider ending their business ties.

The same point appeared Friday on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, where Robert L. Pollock, a member of the newspaper"s editorial board, cited the list of law firms and quoted an unnamed "senior U.S. official" as saying, "Corporate C.E.O."s seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists".

In his radio interview, Mr. Stimson said:

I think the news story that you"re really going to start seeing in the next couple of weeks is this: As a result of a FOIA request through a major news organization, somebody asked, "Who are the lawyers around this country representing detainees down there?" and you know what, it"s shocking.  The F.O.I.A reference was to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by Monica Crowley, a conservative syndicated talk show host, asking for the names of all the lawyers and law firms representing Guantánamo detainees in federal court cases.

After listing the firms listed on the report provided to Monica Crowley, Stimson said:

I think, quite honestly, when corporate C.E.O."s see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those C.E.O."s are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms, and I think that is going to have a major play in the next few weeks.  And we want to watch that play out.

Care For a Little Hypocrisy?

The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution states that the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Obviously, the Bush regime would rather that not happen.  Otherwise, we might find out that the majority of men and boys that have been held at Guantanomo Bay in Cuba have nothing to do with 9/11 or terrorism.  We might find out more information about how detainees are treated.  In an article on AlterNet, Marjorie Cohn wrote:

Guantánamo has become the symbol of U.S. hypocrisy. While fighting the "war on terror" and attacking other countries for their human rights abuses, the officials in the Bush administration have become war criminals. Torture and cruel or inhuman treatment are punishable as war crimes under the U.S. War Crimes Act.

The lawyers who have decided to defend detainees at Guantánamo believe that defending people, all people, is a hallmark of a society that calls itself free and democratic. The Bush regime is against all that.  Then add so-called "journalists" using the Freedom of Information Act, not to expose the government for its criminal activities, but to out lawyers doing a yeoman"s job, providing pro-bono work representing clients the Bush regime would label terrorists and that most lawyers would run away from. And to have these players in the Bush regime working in tandem to bring down these lawyers is just disgusting.

The Little Things

But it is not just the fact that they are attacking these lawyers that should alarm us, although that is reason enough.  This story highlights another one of those "little things." Things that this regime has done that, separately, appear really bad.  But taken together, paints a sordid picture of just how far this country is on the road towards fascism.  But it"s easy to become accustomed to the way things are unless you step back and put these things together.

The recent attacks on lawyers representing Guantánamo detainees comes after the attacks on journalists for exposing the not so secret bank surveillance program the Bush regime set up.  Then, people were saying that newspapers such as the New York Times were guilty of treason and helping the terrorists.  There were also the attacks on artists who spoke out against Bush"s illegal and unjust war in Iraq. Then, the Dixie Chicks were boycotted, were sent death threats and the president comes out and says they shouldn"t have their feelings hurt if people don"t want to buy their records.  Government scientists can"t report on data that contradicts Bush"s view on things such as global warming. People are doing their jobs and when those jobs conflict with the direction Bush is taking society, the regime does what it can to bring those people down.

I think it is really easy to get bogged down on the intricacies of the details and miss the picture as a whole.  These attacks on lawyers are just another attempt by this regime to shift society into a direction that is more favorable to their fascistic plans and the surprising element is that they are so open and upfront about it.  This gives us the opportunity to call these people out and increases the urgency to drive out the bush regime.

An Added Note:

Charles D. Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, has since apologized for his comments.  He said, "Regrettably, my comments left the impression that I question the integrity of those engaged in the zealous defense of detainees in Guantánamo. I do not."  And, "I apologize for what I said and to those lawyers and law firms who are representing clients at Guantánamo. I hope that my record of public service makes clear that those comments do not reflect my core beliefs."

Yeah, Right.  Not that it matters though, the damage is already done.  An official in the Bush regime portrayed lawyers representing detainees as supporting terrorists.  You can"t really take that back.  And I don"t really believe him anyway.  This was a concerted effort to undermine these lawyers and the fact that the original story was put out there by different members of the media shows that these people have no qualms about their behavior as long as it serves their ultimate goal of smashing any opposition.

What I do know that it was the outrage over his comments that made him do an about face and issue an apology.  And when members of this regime do say outrageous things, and we can be certain that they will, we need to be there.  Loud and strong, calling them out and exposing the true nature of their behavior.

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