GOP Armed Services chair says White House divided on Guantanamo closing News
GOP Armed Services chair says White House divided on Guantanamo closing

[JURIST] US Representative Duncan Hunter [official website], chairman of the House Armed Services Committee [official website], said in an interview with Fox News Sunday that there are members of the Bush administration who want to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to end the debate over allegations of abuse and "move on". In an interview that will air on Monday, however, Vice President Dick Cheney has indicated to Fox that there is "no plan to close" the prison. After former President Jimmy Carter and others urged the closing [JURIST report] last week, President Bush said he was "exploring all alternatives" [JURIST report] last week while Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there were no plans to close Guantanamo [JURIST report] by anyone in the administration. Hunter's interview comes in the wake of a Time magazine article [access to article] released Sunday which details an interrogation record [excerpts of interrogation log] of al Qaeda suspect Mohammad al-Kahtani, a Saudi Arabian who is alleged by the Pentagon to be the fifth member meant to participate in the hijacking of United Airlines flight 93 [Wikipedia backgrounder] on September 11. The article indicates that throughout Kahtani's interrogation, he was forced to bark like a dog, subjected to Christina Aguilera music to keep him from sleeping, and was denied requested prayer time. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.