Time to End the 9/11 Military-Commission Debacle | National Review

We had it right in 1942, when 6 of 8 German saboteurs were executed 8 weeks after being captured, dry foot on US soil, denied habeas corpus and tried by military commission. None of them had hurt a fly nor destroyed any property, but had the means and intent to do so. They were found guilty of breaking the Geneva Conventions and convicted as spies. The law says those accused of war crimes may be held, without charge or trial, until the end of hostilities. It also says if tried, the accused would be afforded the SAME rights as US military personnel under the UCMJ. Instead of following that example, both GW Bush and Hussein Obama came up with Military Commissions Acts (2006 and 2009, respectively) that usurped the law, and ended up giving unlawful combatant Islamists who want to kill us virtually the SAME rights you or I would enjoy in a federal court of law. That's why the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay have failed to produce results.

MAJ Montgomery Granger My company provided the internal security of the court room and did the detainee moves to and from the court for the first four commissions. I knew we (the US) were screwed when I had two attorneys (both military) who were overt detainee sympathizers.

Wow. That has been a problem since Day 1. Fraternization with the enemy was a problem in 2002 as well. Human nature. But disciplined troops must resist. Fraternization is how the enemy manipulates you and then uses LAWFARE to reduce their incarceration time. The MSM LOVES to cite traitorous former guards, who are disloyal and say they mistreated or tortured detainees, or witnessed such. Some are still friends with their former charges. I'm not saying those things didn't happen, but the only institutionalized abuse was from detainees towards the guards, not the other way around. Any abuse, no matter how minor, that occurred at Gitmo while I was there was dealt with swiftly and harshly.

The Court can be wrong. We all know the Supreme Court is susceptible to political and other influences. Granted, it's the best we've got, but the term, 'settled law' is a LAWFARE mind control phrase. In 1942, 6 of 8 German saboteurs, caught dry-foot on US soil, were denied habeas corpus, tried by military commission, were executed by electric chair within 8 weeks of their capture. Thing is, they hadn't hurt a fly or destroyed any property. They merely had the means and intent to do so, in violation of the Geneva Conventions. In other words, they broke the Law of War, and the penalty was death. What's different now? 740+ detainees have been RELEASED from the US military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and NONE have been executed, beheaded, blown up, hacked to death, dragged naked and lifeless through the streets, drowned or burned alive. All things our enemies have done to US and/or our allies. My US Army Reserve Unit, the 800th MP BDE (EPW), was full of civilian law enforcement officers and veterans of Operation Desert Shield/Storm, who experienced the First Gulf War POW influx. From lessons learned, we trained for the next war, and were ready and able to process unlawful combatants for the GWOT, only the DoD, directed by bureaucrats and politicians intent on usurping and modifying decades of 'settled law,' chose to abridge the process of war criminal prosecution, first with the 2006 MCA, under G. W. Bush, and then again during the Obama administration with the 2009 MCA. It is obvious to this observer that leaving well enough alone from 1942 would have resulted in effective and efficient processing and resolution with regard to detainees in the GWOT.

MAJ Montgomery Granger - Jesus, the German saboteur case again? How many times do I need to explain to you that Ex parte Quirin, 317 U.S. 1 (1942), isn't applicable in the Gitmo cases as to trial by military commission? One of the latest cases to cite Quirin goes against what you are advocating. "Quirin, Hamdi, and Padilla all emphasize that Milligan's teaching—that our Constitution does not permit the Government to subject civilians within the United States to military jurisdiction—remains good law." Al-Marri v. Wright, 487 F.3d 160 (4th Cir. 2007).

Please stop advocating actions that are contrary to the Constitution that you swore an oath to support.

Please stop calling me Jesus. I cite Operation Pastorius because it's absolutely relevant. It's not my fault you and others refuse to accept the simple rationale behind punishment for violations of the Geneva Conventions. Those do not apply if habeas is granted, which in all but very few cases, it has not. The President has authority to convene military commissions. As Commander in Chief he has that privilege which cannot be regulated by Congress. Commissions have been established but under the 2009 MCA are bastardized beyond all recognition of efficient and effective means of prosecuting suspected war criminals. I would like to hear your reasoned approach to prosecuting even those who admit culpability in 9/11 and other acts of war against the United States.

MAJ Montgomery Granger - Jesus, really? I've asked you which imaginary deity that you would prefer that I malign, but you never answered.

Second, both the courts and legal experts are telling you that Quirin isn't relevant, and in fact supports the current system instead of the one that you advocate.

Third, the President doesn't have the authority to convene military commissions outside of the authority established by Congress, at least as far as quasi-judicial military commissions are concerned.

Fourth, I've told you repeatedly what has to be done, beginning with ensuring that the prisoners rights under the Constitution are protected.