The Pentagon’s top lawyer will fly to London soon for the next round of negotiations over treatment of British citizens facing terrorism trials before military tribunals. British Attorney General Lord Goldsmith has twice visited Washington on the subject since mid-July, winning agreement that two Britons won’t be subject to the death penalty, will be allowed a British consultant on their defense teams and that their conversations with their lawyers will not be monitored - exceptions to tribunal rules the Pentagon has written for goobers suspects captured in the global war on terrorism. The Defense Department’s general counsel, William J. Haynes, will take a small Pentagon team to London soon to continue the talks, though a date has not been set, a defense official said Thursday. Similar agreements have been reached and talks also are pending with Australia, which has one suspect facing possible charges before the newly created tribunals. The Britons and Australian are among the more than 660 al-Qaida and Taliban suspects at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Though no charges have been filed, President Bush has named six of the prisoners as candidates for the first tribunals. The Defense Department has not publicly identified the three other suspects, nor said what country they are from. The other countries apparently have not asked for negotiations and may be waiting to see how talks with the British and Australians turn out, a defenses official said Thursday.
Wonder why they haven’t asked? Maybe the Bank of Goodwill is closed in Washington?
Lawyers and human rights groups say they believe the concessions given the two allies could set a precedent for other prisoners.
Brits and Aussies are our pals, and we’re doing them a favor. That’s all.
But the Pentagon says the talks cover only the three individuals and follow a review of the evidence in each of their cases, in which prosecutors would not have sought the death penalty anyway, and would not have recommended monitoring of their conversations anyway. |