Redstate

By James Jay Carafano Posted in War — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Over the next several days I’ll be at the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an observer to the proceedings against Omar Ahmed Khadr, who was taken into custody on the battlefields of Afghanistan. Congress established military commissions for unlawful combatants held at GITMO that the government wants to try as criminals.

Read on . . .

Waiting for the plane yesterday at Andrews Air Force Base, I saw one of the first signs that the government is trying to do things right -- protect American citizens and safeguard the rule of law. There looks to be almost three dozen people on the flight – many of whom are journalists (mostly from Canada; Khadr is Canadian by birth). The rest of the folks are like me, non-governmental observers (NGOs). The NGOs are an alphabet soup, everything from the VFW to various human rights groups. The point is that the U.S. government invited all these representatives from the outside world to come to Guantanamo to see how the commissions work. Providing that kind of transparency is what honest governments do -- no secret trials, no show trials.

I arrived at the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay where the U.S. military holds 320 unlawful combatants. Most were captured in Afghanistan (none are from Iraq). All of them have had a hearing to determine whether they are a threat to the United States. They also have annual hearings to determine whether their detention is still warranted. Indeed, a number of detainees have been cleared for release and sent back to their countries or other states willing to accept them. All of these tribunals are conducted by the military for crimes committed on the battlefield. All the detainees here are in military custody.

The Pentagon has been trying to conduct these trials, called Military Commissions, since 2004, but a series of legal disputes reaching all the way to the Supreme Court required Congress to draft legislation authorizing the commissions. That done -- the government thinks the process is back on track. We’ll see. The Khadr trial is supposed to start tomorrow.

At dinner last night I ate in “The Galley,” a mess hall on this part of the island. It reminded me of why I am so glad I am retired from the military. Military chow is still military chow.

Eating with the soldiers, sailor, and marines stationed here, however, is also a reminder of who is running the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. They are the guards, interrogators, medical staff, prosecutors and defense attorneys. They are charged with keeping the detainees safe and healthy. They are responsible for protecting the staff against the violence periodically attempted by the detainees. They are responsible for collecting intelligence that might save the lives of Americans and their friends and allies. They are responsible for ensuring that the rights of the detainees are not violated. They must ensure that justice is done -- in the Military Commissions and all the other legal proceedings that happen here. They are our sons and daughters, and colleagues, and friends. Many are citizen-soldiers in the National Guard or Reserve. They are great soldiers in another great generation -- and regardless of what anyone thinks about the need for the facilities here, we should all be proud of the service they are performing. They are doing a magnificent job.

Stay tuned for more updates soon.

Carafano is a defense policy expert at The Heritage Foundation.