JAG CENTRALThe world's first weblog devoted to military justice and military law issues.
Friday, April 08, 2005
FRIDAY'S NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS
From the NY Times, Administration Urges Appeals Court to Let Guantánamo War Crimes Trials Resume ("A senior lawyer in the Bush administration urged a federal appeals court on Thursday to allow the resumption of war crimes trials in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as part of the effort to defend against terrorists. The lawyer, Peter D. Keisler, the assistant attorney general who heads the civil division of the Justice Department, said the trials that a federal judge halted on Nov. 8 were an important part of the fight against terrorism. The trials, Mr. Keisler said, "send a message that if you commit terrible crimes, we will capture you, we will give you a fair trial, and if you're convicted, we will impose a just sentence."); Anthrax Shots Can Resume, Judge Rules ("The Pentagon can resume giving anthrax vaccinations, but only to troops who volunteer for them, said a federal judge who banned the shots in October amid questions about their safety. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of Federal District Court ruled that the shots could be restarted on a voluntary basis under a 2004 law that he said appeared to allow use of unapproved drugs when health and defense officials declare a military emergency or the potential for one. Before the ban, the Pentagon had given anthrax vaccine shots to 1.1 million troops since 1998, and hundreds of people have been discharged from the military for refusing them.").
From the Washington Post, Pentagon Drafting Policy for Detention ("Pentagon officials are developing an overarching doctrine for wartime prison operations that would detail a strict chain of command and clearer detention rules, seeking to eliminate the confusion that contributed to detainee abuse in Iraq, according to a draft of the policy that is working its way to the secretary of defense. The draft, which is being prepared by the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recognizes that commanders in Iraq did not plan for what became extensive detention operations and intelligence gathering, with tens of thousands of detainees landing in U.S. custody. It points out that because the personnel and material needed for the operation "were not prioritized," problems followed."); Justice Dept. Defends Value of Military Trials; Anthrax Vaccinations Allowed to Resume.
From the Washington Post, Pentagon Drafting Policy for Detention ("Pentagon officials are developing an overarching doctrine for wartime prison operations that would detail a strict chain of command and clearer detention rules, seeking to eliminate the confusion that contributed to detainee abuse in Iraq, according to a draft of the policy that is working its way to the secretary of defense. The draft, which is being prepared by the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recognizes that commanders in Iraq did not plan for what became extensive detention operations and intelligence gathering, with tens of thousands of detainees landing in U.S. custody. It points out that because the personnel and material needed for the operation "were not prioritized," problems followed."); Justice Dept. Defends Value of Military Trials; Anthrax Vaccinations Allowed to Resume.
