Is Robert Gates Guilty of Perjury in Guantánamo Torture Case?
The announcement on December 1 that President-Elect Barack Obama had retained Robert Gates as defense secretary was intended to demonstrate Obama’s desire for a “big-tent” administration that transcended partisan politics. Gates, who voiced his desire to close the Pentagon’s notorious Guantánamo Bay prison almost as soon as he took over from Donald Rumsfeld in December 2006, had subsequently encountered strong opposition from Vice President Dick Cheney. As a result of this stance, and his subsequent stewardship of the Iraq war, he was regarded as a trustworthy figure who might bridge the Bush and Obama divide. This role, however, has been called into doubt by a declaration the defense secretary made in a Washington, D.C. District Court filing on December 12 during the habeas review of Guantánamo prisoner Binyam Mohamed. Mohamed’s lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, says that unless Gates retracts his statement, he could find himself accused of perjury. Mohamed has said that after being seize
