Guantanamo Counsel Resigns in Disgust

Guantanamo Counsel Resigns in Disgust

Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld resigned from the military commissions tribunals at Guantanamo convinced that the system denies defense attorneys exculpatory evidence that the government knows about, which might prove the innocence of the defendant.

The Guantanamo issue tells us a lot about the candidates and their commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law. Obama is clear:

' I will close Guantanamo.

I will restore habeas corpus. And we will end torture and rendition because you will have elected a president who has taught the Constitution and believes in the Constitution and will obey the Constitution of the United States of America." -- Barack Obama, February 27 2008.'

Although McCain says he wants to close the physical facility at Guantanamo, he supports the deeply flawed military tribunals process:

' Senator John McCain, transforming a recent Supreme Court decision into a campaign issue yesterday, blasted the court's ruling,

which established that foreign terrorism suspects held in detention at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay have the constitutional right to challenge their detention in civilian courts. "The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country," McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said . . .'
-June 14, 2008

posted by Juan Cole @ 10/13/2008 02:38:00 PM