Scott Horton: "Needless & Humiliating Defeat" - Hamden -Revealed Bushco's Fear & Loathing Of Justice

[kpete]

Verdict on Hamdan

That such a loaded, rigged system actually produced an acquittal on the only serious charges is evidence of the breathtaking incompetence of the Bush strategists.

The panelists were hand picked by a crony of Vice President Dick Cheney

Even—if Hamdan were acquitted, he could continue to be held for life, a Pentagon briefer acknowledged.


By Scott Horton

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By contrast, America has now endured seven years of an administration which fears the rule of law, which operates in the shadows as it contravenes criminal statutes and long-cherished traditions and retaliates mercilessly against civil servants who stand for law and principle. George Bush and his political advisors openly castigate law and justice as weaknesses or vulnerabilities–as public suspicions grow that they have darker reasons to be concerned about the law. Instead of following the historic route and using military commissions that follow the nation’s long-standing traditions, they have crafted embarrassing kangaroo courts. When the Supreme Court brought its gavel down on one of their shameful contraptions, they simply concocted another, equally shameful one, openly proclaiming an inferior brand of justice for those who were “not citizens,” exalting in the right to use torture-extracted evidence and to transact the proceedings in secret.

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The Hamdan case demonstrates the flawed planning of the Bush Administration in other respects as well. The military commissions exist to try war crimes. Conspiracy is a war crime. Indeed, Robert Jackson himself labored to make that point at Nuremberg and he succeeded. The conspiracy charges were therefore plainly within the competence of the commissions. And he was acquitted on these charges.

(They convicted him of material support on the grounds that he was in fact bin Laden’s chauffeur...)the fact remains that this is not a war crime. In fact, the law is very clear on this point. That means not that Hamdan is innocent, but that the charge should have been brought in another court, not before a military commission.


more at:
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/08/hbc-90003374

[Jack Rabbit]

1. K/R

[Usrename]

2. This could be a precedent for trying Bush before a commmission.

If they've waived the jurisdictional requirements of the statute, then it could be used against US citizens, one would guess.