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Guest Commentary December 17, 2001
Military Tribunals
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
We all know our various Presidents over the years have had to call other countries and say: You are holding an American. You can't put that American before a secret military tribunal. There have to be safeguards and we have to know what is going on. Certainly, you must carry out your own laws, but let's do it in the open and make sure they have a chance to speak, that they know what the evidence is against them, and that they have a chance for appeal.
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A military tribunal is not a court-martial. Our courts-martial in the United States follow very specific procedures -- in fact, some of the best in the world. If it is simply a question of these being, in effect, a court-martial, I don't think there would be any problem.
But what is a military tribunal?
Senators have asked: Does it mean that a bare majority, or even less, could vote for the death penalty? What is the standard of proof? Is it mere suspicion, or is it preponderance of the evidence, or is it beyond a reasonable doubt? Does the person accused have any chance to give any kind of a defense? These are all issues that should be laid out.
If we are going to use military tribunals, let's make sure we are putting forth the best face of America. We have so much for which to be proud. We have a great deal to be proud of in our civil courts and in our military courts.
At a time when we are asking nations around the world to join us in our battle against these despicable acts of terror -- the acts we saw on September 11 in New York, the Pentagon, and in a lonely field in Pennsylvania -- as we properly and appropriately defend ourselves and seek to eradicate the source of this terror, let's make sure, as we line up countries around the world to join us in that battle, that we keep those countries as our allies for further battles. Even after bin Laden is gone -- and eventually he will be -- there will be other terrorists -- if not now, in later years.
We want to make sure that countries join with us in the battle against terrorism, respecting the fact that we uphold our Constitution and our highest ideals as Americans.
Patrick Leahy is a U.S. Senator (D-VT). The above column has been adapted from a speech Sen. Leahy delivered on the floor of the Senate, December 14, 2001. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
