~"Burying the lead"...
Bin Laden's 'guard' first to face naval base hearing by Marian Wilkinson, Telegraph (Filed: 25/08/2004) in the 6th paragraph...
Asked by the defence whether he believed the orders establishing the military commission were lawful, Col Brownback paused, and to the surprise of some observers, said: "I choose not to answer that question at this time."
Asked again by the military prosecutor, Commander Scott Lang, Col Brownback replied that he had "a duty to comply" with any order, even if it was "questionable".
Hamdan is the first of four detainees to face the commission this week for pre-trial hearings...Hamdan has been detained at Guantanamo for almost three years since he was captured in Afghanistan. His defence counsel says he was a low-level driver for bin Laden. Prosecutors say he was not only a bin Laden bodyguard but delivered weapons and other supplies to al-Qa'eda.
Security is tight around the court building but observers from the American Bar Association, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been allowed into the hearings.
Hamdan's lawyer argued that the court was unconstitutional and violated the Geneva Conventions.
Before entering the hearing, Cdr Swift issued a statement saying: "The current military commission flatly violates not only the United States constitution but the very laws of war the administration claims to be upholding."
Hamdan had told his lawyer in an affadavit: "I have not been permitted to see the sun or hear other people outside.
"I am alone except for a guard. One month is like a year here. I have considered pleading guilty to get out of here."
The hearing continues.
story
~God bless America and God bless the good men and women of the US Armed Forces. It's difficult for them to scale down their operations to fit inside an ordinary court of law.