National Security Experts Seek Public Debate of Proposed Changes to Military Commissions

National Security Experts Seek Public Debate of Proposed Changes to Military Commissions

·         May 11, 2016

·         Issue: Counter-Terrorism Policies & Practices

·         Sub-Issue: Detention & Prosecution of Terrorist Suspects

Twenty-five national security experts from across the political spectrum want Congress to hold public hearings before making changes to the law for prosecuting suspected terrorists in military commissions.

Military commission proceedings have been underway at Guantanamo Bay since 2011 for six detainees accused of planning the 9/11 attacks, and one accused of plotting the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, with the anticipated trials still several years away.  The government is seeking the death penalty against six of the defendants.  In mid-April, the Department of Defense asked Congress to consider several amendments to the Military Commissions Act it said would improve the efficiency of the process.

“There are real problems with the military commissions, but the proposed amendments to the MCA do not address them—and in some cases raise serious constitutional concerns,” the experts wrote in a May 10 statement to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is considering the changes requested by the Pentagon as part of the annual defense authorization legislation.  The experts are all members of The Constitution Project’s bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee or the Task Force on Detainee Treatment.

“Fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks and the Cole bombing, it is perfectly understandable that the government, the families of the victims and public would be frustrated by the glacial pace of bringing these alleged perpetrators to justice,” said TCP President Virginia Sloan in a press release.  “But tinkering around the edges of an unfixable law, especially without full public discussion, is not the solution,” she said.  Instead, Sloan suggested Congress drop its opposition to trying the cases in federal court.

The statement notes that more people have been convicted on terrorism-related charges in federal court – and are currently incarcerated in federal prison – than the entire remaining population at Guantanamo.  In comparison, military commissions have obtained only eight convictions, four of which were subsequently overturned by a federal appeals court.  Military commissions cost $91 million a year.

LINK TO The Constitution Project (original post)