Amy Goodman: Fmr. Chief Guantanamo Prosecutor Says Military Commissions “Not Justice”

from Democracy Now!:




Fmr. Chief Guantanamo Prosecutor Says Military Commissions “Not Justice”

As the first military tribunal conducted by the United States in more than half a century is scheduled to take place next week in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, we speak with Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo. He resigned his position late last year in protest over what he said was political interference. We speak with Col. Davis about his decision to step down, torture at Guantanamo, and more. “If you’re going to wrap this under the banner of military justice, then it needs to be a fair trial,” Col. Davis said. “What’s taking place now, I would call neither military nor justice.”


Guest:

Col. Morris Davis, Air Force colonel and the former chief prosecutor in the Pentagon’s Office of Military Commissions. He resigned late last year. He now heads the Air Force Judiciary and is planning to retire.


AMY GOODMAN: The first military tribunal conducted by the United States in more than half a century is scheduled to take place next week in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Salim Hamdan, who was once Osama bin Laden’s driver, was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001. The Bush administration has been attempting to bring him to trial through a special military commission ever since.

A federal judge is holding a hearing Thursday to decide whether to delay Hamdan’s trial and allow lawyers to continue challenging the legality of the commission system. A ruling in favor of Hamdan could bring the military commissions to a halt. The judge is also expected to take into account a new legal brief signed by hundreds of European legislators that supports Hamdan’s case and says his trial by military commission would cause “incalculable harm to the fabric” of international law.

The five-member commissions are made up of military officers and presided over by a military judge. During the proceedings prosecutors are allowed to submit evidence obtained through coercion. Hamdan’s lawyers have argued he was beaten and abused at Guantanamo and subjected to a program of systematic sleep deprivation that they said constitutes torture.

One of the most prominent figures to argue on behalf of Hamdan’s case was Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo. He resigned his position late last year in protest over what he said was political interference. In April, Colonel Davis testified as a witness for Hamdan and offered a harsh critique of the military commission system.

I spoke to Colonel Morris Davis yesterday, and I began by asking why he decided to resign as chief prosecutor at Guantanamo.


COL. MORRIS DAVIS: I resigned last October. It was a combination of factors, but kind of, I guess, the final straw that broke the camel’s back was when Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England signed a memo on October the 4th that put me under the command of then-DOD General Counsel Jim Haynes. Mr. Haynes—as you probably know, he testified recently before a congressional hearing—was one of the architects of the interrogation policy, what many people consider to be torture. My policy as chief prosecutor had been that we would not offer any evidence obtained by waterboarding, specifically, or any other interrogation techniques that were unduly coercive. And then, when Mr. Haynes became above me in the chain of command, and his view on what constitutes torture and mine were significantly different, I felt I couldn’t ensure full, fair and open trials, and I resigned—asked to resign.

AMY GOODMAN: What constitutes torture, Colonel Davis?

COL. MORRIS DAVIS: Well, that’s a tough—you know, there are a variety of different definitions, and if you look at the definition, it seems fairly simple. But when you try to apply it to specific facts, it gets a little bit harder.

And actually, in my role as chief prosecutor, I really wasn’t concerned about what constitutes torture. Defining torture really focuses on holding accountable the person that’s administering the technique. As the chief prosecutor, I was interested in prosecuting the person making the statement. So, for me, it was really a question of whether the information the person provided was reliable and trustworthy and suitable for use in an American court of justice. So, whether it constituted torture or not, in my mind, was really irrelevant for purposes of what I was doing. It was a question of reliability, not trying to assign accountability to the person performing the technique.

AMY GOODMAN: Colonel Davis, I wanted to ask you about the August 2005 meeting with the Pentagon general counsel who was put above you now, Jim Haynes, the man who is now overseeing the tribunal process for the Pentagon.

COL. MORRIS DAVIS: Well, let—if I could just interrupt. Mr. Haynes resigned a few months ago. He’s now an attorney for Chevron and is no longer with the Department of Defense. I believe that is a step in the right direction, but there are a few more steps that are necessary. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/16/fmr_chief_guantanamo_prosecutor_says_military

K&R

English teachers everywhere are snorting a line of coke right now because of that! :spank:

:P