Terror suspects prosecuted by U.S. military tribunals could be charged with any of two dozen crimes, including hijacking, poisoning and rape, under a draft list of offenses the Pentagon released Friday.
The Defense Department hopes to have the list finished by mid-March, after getting public comment, Pentagon lawyers said. Completing the list of crimes moves the Pentagon a step closer to possible tribunal prosecutions, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said.
"It does not necessarily mean there's a person who is ready to be put into that process," Rumsfeld said. "If you're asking me, `Do I have someone in mind that I'm going to tee up?' the answer is no."[Only Rummy would put it in terms of Golf. Tee-hee!--J.T.]
[...]
The most important terror suspects are being held in secret locations.
In addition to the detainees in Cuba and elsewhere, the administration may consider sending the case of Zacarias Moussaoui to a military tribunal.
Moussaoui, a French citizen, is the lone U.S. defendant charged with conspiring with the Sept. 11, 2001, attackers. His trial judge in Alexandria, Va., has ruled he should have access to Ramzi Binalshibh, a captured lieutenant of accused terrorist kingpin Usama bin Laden. The government opposed the decision and is appealing.
If the decision is not overturned, the administration could decide to transfer the case, preferring secret testimony before a tribunal to public testimony in a civilian courtroom.
One detainee unaffected by the tribunals is Jose Padilla, 31, a former Chicago gang member held as an enemy combatant associated with bin Laden's Al Qaeda network. Bush's executive order establishing the courts denied them jurisdiction over U.S. citizens like Padilla.
The crimes on the draft list include:
--Terrorism, defined as killing or hurting people or attacking property in an attempt "to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion or to affect the conduct of a government."
--Rape during the course of an armed conflict.
--"Employing poison or analogous weapons," which would cover the use of chemical weapons or biological toxins.
--Using civilians or civilian property to shield a military objective from attack.
--Killing or attacking civilians.
--Taking hostages.
--Hijacking.
[...]
"Membership crimes" -- making joining Al Qaeda a crime in itself -- are not on the list. But the list includes another seven "related offenses" that allow prosecution of people not directly involved in a crime. Those related offenses include conspiracy, aiding or abetting, attempting, soliciting or ordering any of the 24 direct crimes on the list.
[...]
The rules also limit many rights. To keep cases out of federal courts, for example, defendants would have a very restricted right of appeal to a special review panel made up of one military officer and two outside experts deputized by Bush. Defendants could not appeal to a lower federal court or directly to the Supreme Court.
Defendants also might not be allowed to hear the evidence against them if it were classified, although their military-appointed defense attorney could. The tribunals also could be closed to the public if the presiding officer should decide that evidence was classified or sensitive, or to prevent threats to the safety of trial participants.
I think this is a good development.
Massoui's trial has been a mess from the start--mainly because he's such a nut case, although the judge isn't far behind him--and the sentences that were received by John Walker Lindh ("Johnny Jihad") and Richard Reid were too light, because the government was caught unawares by 9/11 and its aftermath and how to legally handle these would-be martyrs/killers linked with Al Queda.
(And yes, Johnny Jihad got to make a deal with the government because he was an "American," but he still never answered for the death of Johnny "Mike" Spann, IMO.)
Getting these military tribunals in place will solve a lot of problems, but I'll bet the Left will still howl about it because they think all crimes are "subjective" and that the perps should get a hug and a cookie instead of jail time or the death penalty.
Notice also that using human shields has been added to this war crimes list just for Saddam.
