Critics of tribunals gain unlikely allies: lawyers in uniform

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Critics of tribunals gain unlikely
allies: lawyers in uniform

By JESS BRAVIN
The Associated Press
3/18/04 8:22 AM

The Wall Street Journal


snip
The JAGs know they are in a tricky position. People may wonder why
they are defending presumed enemies of the U.S., while others may
believe they are merely putting on a show to lend legitimacy to the
process. Indeed, the Defense Department has cited their vigorous stance
as evidence that the tribunal system is just.

The JAGs say they are fighting to win. "I have absolutely no desire to be
the loyal opposition," says Navy Lt. Cmdr. Philip Sundel, 39, one of two
JAGs assigned to defend Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul, a
Yemeni accused of producing al Qaeda propaganda videos. "I do not want
to be the person whose impassioned but unsuccessful arguments help
show the system was fair."

So far, the JAGs have won praise from human-rights groups and legal
experts who initially expected to see little more than a perfunctory
defense. "I was shocked to discover just how good these military lawyers
were," says Neal Katyal, a Georgetown University law professor and
national-security adviser in the Clinton Justice Department who helped the
JAGs draft their Supreme Court brief.
snip

Cmdr. Swift declines to say how much Mr. Hamdan knew about Mr. bin
Laden's affairs. But he argues that the terrorist kept his plans secret.
Moreover, he says, "Osama bin Laden didn't just blow people up. One of
his appeals -- and one of our problems in catching him -- is that he also
does things like build roads and set up agricultural co-ops and stuff like
that."

Many people had dealings with Mr. bin Laden, he adds, "from
(Mohammed) Atta who is sitting there beside him planning a horrific
attack, to the guy in town who may have sold him a tea beverage in
Kandahar," says Cmdr. Swift. "Are you guilty because you liked or
worked for a bad man?"



more (long and interesting)
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0035_BC_WSJ--JAG-Lawyers

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1. Shameless kick. n/t