U.S. Weighs Changes in Handling Terror Suspects: NYT

Reuters ^ | March 26, 2005 | Reuters

[FairOpinion]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Defense Department is considering major changes to the military tribunals that the Bush administration established to prosecute foreign terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions. Citing military and administration officials, the newspaper said the proposed changes were detailed in a more than 200-page draft manual for the tribunals that has been circulating among Pentagon lawyers.

However, there are reservations about effecting the changes because of the opposition of Vice President Dick Cheney, the newspaper said.

The changes, in the wake of widespread criticism from the federal courts, foreign governments and human rights groups, include strengthening the rights of defendants, establishing more independent judges to lead the panels and barring confessions obtained by torture, the Times said.

Military officials said the draft, modeled after the Manual for Courts-Martial, was written under the auspices of the Pentagon official in charge of the tribunals, Maj.-Gen. John Altenburg, now retired, the Times said.

Officials said the changes would generally move the tribunals, or "military commissions," more into line with the judicial standards applied to members of the U.S. military in traditional courts-martial, the newspaper reported.

President Bush first authorized the commissions after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Times also reported that the administration's willingness to restructure the commissions -- a central part of its strategy for fighting terrorism -- is uncertain, with some officials seeing the changes as premature. A lawsuit challenging the legality of the commissions is now in a federal appeals court.

Some White House supporters of the changes have changed jobs, the Times said, leaving a small group of officials led by Vice President Cheney, who oppose switching to the commission rules, unless forced to do so by the courts.

"There are a number of folks who would like to make changes," the Times quoted one Pentagon official as saying about the rules governing the military commissions. But, the official added, "Cheney is still driving a lot of this."

Cheney's counsel, David Addington, rebuffed a question of possible modifications to the commission procedures at an interagency meeting this month on detainee policy. "We don't need any changes in the commissions," U.S. officials quoted Addington as saying, according to the Times report.

A spokesman for Cheney's office did not respond to requests for comment on the counsel's views, the Times said.

[FairOpinion]

"The changes, in the wake of widespread criticism from the federal courts, foreign governments and human rights groups, include strengthening the rights of defendants, establishing more independent judges to lead the panels and barring confessions obtained by torture, the Times said. "

If Terri Schiavo had been a terrorist, she would have had a chance...

Foreign terrorists have "rights" to "due process", an innocent, disabled young woman, a US citizen, doesn't.

What is the message to the society?

[CBart95]

Message: That "widespread criticism from the federal courts, foreign governments and human rights groups"is probably no reason for a soveriegn nation state to consider anything but supression of free speech by these outsiders. (Besides, our courts have'nt "criticized" anyone...a typo?)
Other Message: Hysterical lurching about using the invasion of privacy to formulate criticism of one's country in time of war is considered sedition. Of course, this only applies to citizens...not outside agitators.

[kimosabe31]

The changes, in the wake of widespread criticism from the federal courts, foreign governments and human rights groups...

Does anyone know what the hell is going on here?? Are we at war or is this some kind of love-in??