2007 manual for military commissions

Those of us who still believe in the rule of law know that this inept, misguided and unjust creation will collapse again sooner or later, anyway.

He can be reached at: andy andyworthington. New from CounterPunch. Weekend Edition January 14, Friday - Sunday. David Swanson Read Glenn Ford. Well, OK, But …. George Wuerthner Fire Suppression Myths. Paul Gilk Waiting at the Depot. Jacob G. This provision was made because the country is at war, and the disclosure of some evidence could be harmful, he said. However, all evidence admitted to the commission will be seen by the detainee, he emphasized.

Department of Justice, military judge advocates general, and representatives from executive branch agencies.

Thomas Hemingway, special legal advisor for the Office of Military Commissions, said at the news conference. Prosecutors from the Office of Military Commissions will need time to review the new rules and develop their cases, he said, but they are committed to moving the process along quickly. The last Congress was asleep at the wheel. The only thing scarier than a government that would take away our basic freedoms is a Congress that would let it happen.

Congress must correct that mistake and restore habeas corpus and due process, and define enemy combatants as only those who engage in hostilities against the United States. Permits coerced evidence. The act permits convictions based on evidence that was literally beaten out of a witness, or obtained through other abuse by either the federal government or by other countries.

Turns a blind eye to past abuses. Makes the president his own judge and jury.