American Civil Liberties Union

The circus-like atmosphere of the military commissions in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, carried on yesterday in top form. Although the primary issue addressed – selection of counsel for the accused – routinely arises and is professionally dealt with in federal court, the hearing today left the proceedings against Omar Khadr in tatters. When all was said and done – and most of it was said and done by the presiding judge, Colonel Parrish, who made little effort to conceal his anger and frustration with Khadr's lawyers – the judge had slashed Khadr's trial team of three lawyers to a provisional one, depending on the outcome of yet another hearing set for July.

We, along with other Americans concerned with the direction of President Obama's approach to national security, watched with bated breath as he gave his much-anticipated speech this morning addressing national security issues including the closure of Guantánamo and the revival of the military commissions. Yesterday, human rights groups including the ACLU met with the president and members of his cabinet and expressed concerns about the president's reported plans for indefinite detention for some terrorism suspects. While today's speech was refreshing in its efforts to acknowledge the importance of the Constitution and the rule of law, we remain concerned about those issues.

It’s official: Bush-era military commissions are back.

And the Obama administration has even put its stamp of approval on them. They have made a few changes, but the idea is still the same.

If hearsay is admissible, there is no protection against evidence that was beaten out of a witness (who is not present in court) from being used to convict someone. Given how pervasive the use of torture and abuse was in interrogations, there is a very significant danger that detainees may be convicted based on evidence obtained by torture or abuse.

How do you know when something is past the point of fixing? When it wasn't that great even when it was brand new, and kept falling apart until it finally broke down. That's the military commission system in a nutshell.

Today we learned that President Obama plans to retool the failed military commission system for 20 or so Guantanamo detainees. We're disappointed. During the campaign, then-Senator Obama promised a different approach to Gitmo (PDF):

The legal framework behind Guantanamo has failed completely, resulting in only one conviction…As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo. He will reject the Military Commissions Act, which allowed the U.S. to circumvent Geneva Conventions in the handling of detainees. He will develop a fair and thorough process based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice to distinguish between those prisoners who should be prosecuted for their crimes, those who can’t be prosecuted but who can be held in a manner consistent with the laws of war, and those who should be released or transferred to their home countries. (emphasis ours)