JAG CENTRAL

Lots of military justice-related stories today to digest.

The New York Times: U.N. Rights Chief Says Prison Abuse May Be War Crime, Aide to Qaeda Suspect Captured in Iraq, 17 Ex-P.O.W.'s Set Back Again in Claim Against Iraq, Cheney Reportedly Interviewed in Leak of C.I.A. Officer's Name. And in Tomorrow's NY Times, Abuse Inquiries Seen as Leaving Significant Gaps.

Of particular note in tomorrow's article are these statements from RAdm John D. Hutson (ret.), the former Navy JAG:

"They have created a patchwork with cracks in it, and a lot will fall through it," said John D. Hutson, who served as the Navy's judge advocate general from 1997 to 2000 and is now the dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire. "There's no umbrella or overarching investigation that has the power to go wherever it leads."
...
"I think in a very narrow sense we'll see that justice was done for the seven low-level soldiers, or whatever number it ends of being," he said. "Whether justice is done for the more senior people implicated remains to be seen. I don't hold out great hope that any of these investigations are going to result in that."

The Washington Post: Records Paint Dark Portrait of Guard: Before Abu Ghraib, Graner Left a Trail of Violence, Padilla Case Puts Lawyers in Limbo, Too: Defense Attorneys Unable to Rebut Justice's Claims, E-Mail to Cheney Called a Courtesy: Note on Halliburton Deal Sent by Army Corps Official, U.S. Gulf War POWs Denied Settlement, and More Probes of Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan Announced.