After reviewing Paragraph 5 pf the OPORD of Wed, 23 Jul 2003 14:43:39
GMT, Henrietta K Thomas <hkt69@earthlink.net> exclaimed:

>(newsgroups trimmed way down)
>
>On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 13:44:48 GMT, Fred J. McCall <fmccall@earthlink.net> 
>wrote, in us.military.army:
>
>>"Paul J. Adam" <news@jrwlynch.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>:What would _you_ consider a "fair trial", Fred, and would your opinion
>>:change if you were the defendant?
>>
>>Paul, nobody wants a 'fair trial' when they're the defendant.  They
>>just want to get off.
>
>Sometimes 'getting off' IS a fair trial.  :-)
>
>>This lot will get fairer trials than they've got coming.  Why is it
>>none of your lot are willing to wait for the bad outcomes you keep
>>shrilling about to occur before tearing your hair out and wailing to
>>the skies?
>
>Because, by that time, it may be too late.  Under international law,
>every accused person is entitled to be treated humanely, to be 
>properly advised of any charges against them,  to be properly 
>advised of their right to defend themselves.  Holding people at
>Guantanamo doesn't excuse the US from obeying international
>law.  We get away with it only because we're the most powerful
>nation on earth and no one dares to challenge us.
>

Under international law, huh?

Maybe you could point out which agreements constitute the laws in this
case?

>>Hell, wait until the first trial happens and someone gets sentenced.
>>Then you MIGHT have something to complain about.  However, I'd bet you
>>won't.  The military, unlike a civilian court, is going to be pretty
>>scrupulous about things before they'll sentence someone to death.
>
>My understanding is that there will be no appeals, or at best,
>limited appeals.  So if, by chance, something -does- go wrong,
>all avenues of redress will be closed.  I don't call that a 'fair'
>anything. 
>

Your understanding is based on what?

>>You might want to look at just when the last time was that a military
>>court handed down a death penalty.  
>
>Irrelevant to the question at hand.  Regardless of the outcome,
>all trials must be fair if justice is to be served.
>

...and you have this basis for thinking that they aren't or may not
be:  

.....

>It would have been better, IMO, if we had asked the UN to
>set up an international tribunal to deal with the situation.
>But we did not, so we are stuck with the decision made
>by our government to do everything in secret behind
>closed doors.  No offense intended to the US military
>justice system, but I think it was a bad call.
>

Show me "in secret behind closed doors."


--
Pain heals.
Chicks dig scars.
Glory lasts forever.
      SPC Robert White      31U, OKARNG      HHC 45th eSB      Thunderbirds!