Washington Times Editorial
January 4, 2002
Modifying military tribunals
Ever since President Bush announced his order
establishing military tribunals, his administration has come under heavy fire
from the left and right for failing to include specific safeguards to prevent
innocent people from being railroaded. The administration has clearly been
trying to respond to critics' questions and come up with more specific
information about how tribunals would function and what protections would be
provided for the accused. If information leaked to the New York Times and
reported last Friday proves to be accurate, the new draft contains marked
improvements, which could allay some legitimate civil-liberties concerns.
The new draft would require a unanimous
verdict to impose the death penalty, as opposed to a two-thirds vote required
under the president's original plan, and it would require that a defendant be
presumed innocent. The new regulations also specify that a tribunal may only
convict someone after deciding that he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt — the
standard of proof used in civilian criminal trials. Also, the tribunals would be
open to the news media and would only be closed to prevent the disclosure of
classified information. Perhaps the most significant change from the original
Bush proposal would be the provision creating an appeals process. After the
verdict and sentencing by the military tribunal, which would consist of at least
five uniformed officers, the decisions would be reviewed by a separate
three-member panel that would make a recommendation to the secretary of defense.
The president would have the final word on approving a sentence.
One difference between the tribunals and
regular civilian courts would be that military judges do not have to exclude
hearsay and other kinds of evidence that a "reasonable person" would find
useful, such as Osama bin Laden's infamous videotape. It definitely seems
reasonable to include evidence from the mouth of the mastermind of the September
11 bloodbath as part of the suspects'
trials.
Even so, the administration appears to
have lost much of its earlier enthusiasm for employing military tribunals —
especially for suspects arrested on American soil. Mr. Bush's decision to try
Zacarias Moussaoui in federal court in Virginia was a clear sign that the
administration was rethinking the very concept of military tribunals for al
Qaeda terrorist suspects. Mr. Moussaoui, who is accused of multiple counts of
conspiracy in connection with the September 11 plot, seemed to be the very sort
of individual Mr. Bush had in mind when he announced the formation of tribunals.
Yet, Vice President Dick Cheney told The Washington Times last month that the
president decided to try Mr. Moussaoui (whose trial is slated to begin in
October) in federal court based in part on his assessment that an open trial
would not compromise national security. The draft regulations for military
tribunals are another indication that the administration understands that there
need be no conflict between bringing accused killers to justice and ensuring a
fair and open trial for the accused.
Copyright © 2002, New World Communications,Inc. All rights reserved.
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