Military Lawyers worry that Guantanimo Tribunals are Rigged

The Defense Department has revealed a casual respect for basic legal principles and obligations. This is not just an internal issue, but one that is watched and followed in the Muslim world. No matter how many times President Bush insists upon his repect for Islam and Muslims, the calculated disdain for established legal standards speaks very loudly in contradiction to Bush's words. These actions do, indeed, come back to haunt us.
Two Prosecutors Faulted Trials for Detainees - New York Times: "In his March 2004 message, Captain Carr told Colonel Borch that 'you have repeatedly said to the office that the military panel will be handpicked and will not acquit these detainees and we only needed to worry about building a record for the review panel' and academicians who would pore over the record in years to come.
Captain Carr said in the message that the problems could not be dismissed as personality differences, as some had tried to depict them, but 'may constitute dereliction of duty, false official statements or other criminal conduct.'
He added that 'the evidence does not indicate that our military and civilian leaders have been accurately informed of the state of our preparation, the true culpability of the accused or the sustainability of our efforts.' The office, he said, was poised to 'prosecute fairly low-level accused in a process that appears to be rigged.'
He said that Colonel Borch also said that he was close to Maj. Gen. John D. Altenburg Jr., the retired officer who is in overall charge of the war crimes commissions, and that this would favor the prosecution.
General Altenburg selected the commission members, including the presiding officer, Col. Peter S. Brownback III, a longtime close friend of his. Defense lawyers objected to the presence of Colonel Brownback and some other officers, saying they had serious conflicts of interest. General Altenburg removed some of the other officers but allowed Colonel Brownback to remain.
In his electronic message, Captain Carr said the prosecution team had falsely stated to superiors that it had no evidence of torture of Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al-Bahlul of Yemen. In addition, Captain Carr said the prosecution team had lost an F.B.I. document detailing an interview in which the detainee claimed he had been tortured and abused."

"Major Preston, in his e-mail message of March 11, 2004, said that pressing ahead with the trials would be "a severe threat to the reputation of the military justice system and even a fraud on the American people.""