ANOTHER LTC ASKS A GOOD QUESTION

LTC Stephen Abraham, formerly involved with the Combatant Status Review Tribunals, was on NPR's Weekend Edition last Saturday (6/23/07) and concisely put one of the serious issues sane people have with Guantanamo¹:

Lt. Col. ABRAHAM: There are many things that I hope come of it. Firstly is that we recognize that the Constitution is not championed, not best defended when we roll it up and lock it up. We certainly should not be afraid of the consequences of applying fundamental Constitutional principles to any hearing. One of the common criticisms that has been made of this entire process is that it lacks due process. But nobody has offered any detail, not as for the policies but as to the actual process. And the more fundamental question is, why are we seemingly afraid to allow for a procedure that gives respect to due process, both in terms of substance and procedure?


LTC Abraham sent a letter describing his concerns to his superiors but guess what? The DoD denies he ever sent it!

ELLIOTT: When you started noticing the pressure, the problems with the intelligence being used, what did you do about? The Pentagon is saying that you did not raise these concerns with your superior officers at the time.

Lt. Col. ABRAHAM: In December, I specifically sent a letter to Admiral Maguerra(ph) expressing concerns in I think a more broad sense about the issues that had been raised as a result of at least one federal district judge's opinion. And after having reviewed the opinion and discussed it with other JAG officers in the organization, I came to the conclusion as to myself that there were a number of valid concerns regarding the role of lawyers, whether civilian lawyers or military lawyers, as a part of this process.

ELLIOTT: The letter that you sent was to Rear Admiral James McGarrah who was overseeing the tribunal process at the time.

Lt. Col. ABRAHAM: Correct. It was hand delivered, I can only presume it was hand delivered to - it was given to my immediate supervisor.

ELLIOTT: So when the Pentagon says that you didn't bring this up, you're saying, oh, yes, I did?

Lt. Col. ABRAHAM: Oh, yes I did.


¹National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: Weekend All Things Considered 7:00 PM EST
June 23, 2007 Saturday
LENGTH: 1035 words
HEADLINE: Military Lawyer Questions Guantanamo Hearings
ANCHORS: DEBBIE ELLIOTT