Amnesty speaks out against new war crimes compound at Gitmo

An Associated Press report on Friday indicated that the U.S. military "plans to build a $125 million compound at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base where it hopes to hold war-crimes trials for terror suspects by the middle of next year."

Human rights groups are furious.

Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, calls it a "white elephant". Below is his official statement on the issue:

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"Once again, the Defense Department seems to be operating in -- even constructing -- its own universe. The new rules for the proposed military commissions under the Military Commissions Act (MCA) have not been made public, and not a single charge has been filed under the new system. And yet the Pentagon wants to build a permanent homage to its failed experiment in second class justice.

"It is absolutely nonsensical that the U.S. government is proposing to spend 125 million American taxpayers' dollars to build commission rooms and supporting structures, when there's a chance that the U.S. courts may strike down the new commissions. Rather than wasting tons of money creating edifices that may prove to be a white elephant, the U.S. government should use the sophisticated and fully adequate facilities already available to it to try terrorism suspects -- federal courts."

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Amen.