Grinder
14 August 2003, 18:42
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2003 - The acting chief prosecutor for
military commissions is seeking hard proof linking detained
enemy combatants to war crimes when selecting cases for
trial.
"First of all, I want cases with very strong evidence,"
Army Col. Frederic Borch III pointed out during an Aug. 7
Wall Street Journal interview.
"I have to have a case that has good proof," the Army
lawyer emphasized.
Six enemy combatants now being detained by DoD are
undergoing evaluation to see if any should be charged and
tried for war crimes under military commissions.
Borch, the Office of Military Commission's senior
prosecuting military attorney, pointed out that Deputy
Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, the appointing
authority, must approve any charges preferred against the
accused.
The senior Army lawyer said he's also looking for
"compelling facts" when weighing whether to bring accused
terrorists to trial before military commissions.
And as the facts of accused terrorists' actions are
presented during courtroom proceedings, Borch posited,
people are "going to recognize the true danger" they pose
to society.
"There are some bad people being detained down at
Guantanamo Bay (Cuba)," Borch noted, who, "present a very
real danger to not only America, but everyone, because
they're involved with terrorism."
War crimes, Borch noted, may include, but are not limited
to:
Conspiracy to commit murder.
Unlawful attacks on civilian objects.
Torture.
Killing of prisoners of war.
Most of the some 660 detainees at Guantanamo Bay aren't
being held "for any view towards prosecution, but instead
because they're enemy combatants who've been captured on
the battlefield or (are) being detained" as part of the
global war on terrorism, Borch explained.
"However, as time goes on we are identifying some of these
as possible prosecution (subjects)," the colonel pointed
out. About 64 detainees, commission officials noted, have
been released.
Any detainees who'd be brought to trial before military
commissions, Borch said, have been "up to some very bad
things."
"That's why they're being prosecuted," he pointed out.
However, Borch emphasized, the president has mandated "full
and fair" trials for accused detainees.
The "court of public opinion will see that this was a full
and fair process," the colonel emphasized, "and the right
legal mechanism for handling terrorism in the war on
terrorism."
The detainees were seized during U.S. and coalition
military operations precipitated by the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on the United States. The al Qaeda
terrorist group, led by Osama bin Laden, is universally
believed to have planned and carried out the 9-11 attacks.
President George Bush, commander in chief of the U.S. armed
forces, determined on July 3, 2003, there is reason to
believe that each of the six enemy combatants was a member
of al Qaeda or was otherwise involved in terrorist acts
against the United States.
As such, the six detainees fall under the president's
Military Order of Nov. 13, 2001, which directed the
establishment of military commissions to provide full and
fair trials of enemy combatants suspected of having
committed war crimes against the United States, as
recognized under international law.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2003 - The acting chief prosecutor for
military commissions is seeking hard proof linking detained
enemy combatants to war crimes when selecting cases for
trial.
"First of all, I want cases with very strong evidence,"
Army Col. Frederic Borch III pointed out during an Aug. 7
Wall Street Journal interview.
"I have to have a case that has good proof," the Army
lawyer emphasized.
Six enemy combatants now being detained by DoD are
undergoing evaluation to see if any should be charged and
tried for war crimes under military commissions.
Borch, the Office of Military Commission's senior
prosecuting military attorney, pointed out that Deputy
Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, the appointing
authority, must approve any charges preferred against the
accused.
The senior Army lawyer said he's also looking for
"compelling facts" when weighing whether to bring accused
terrorists to trial before military commissions.
And as the facts of accused terrorists' actions are
presented during courtroom proceedings, Borch posited,
people are "going to recognize the true danger" they pose
to society.
"There are some bad people being detained down at
Guantanamo Bay (Cuba)," Borch noted, who, "present a very
real danger to not only America, but everyone, because
they're involved with terrorism."
War crimes, Borch noted, may include, but are not limited
to:
Conspiracy to commit murder.
Unlawful attacks on civilian objects.
Torture.
Killing of prisoners of war.
Most of the some 660 detainees at Guantanamo Bay aren't
being held "for any view towards prosecution, but instead
because they're enemy combatants who've been captured on
the battlefield or (are) being detained" as part of the
global war on terrorism, Borch explained.
"However, as time goes on we are identifying some of these
as possible prosecution (subjects)," the colonel pointed
out. About 64 detainees, commission officials noted, have
been released.
Any detainees who'd be brought to trial before military
commissions, Borch said, have been "up to some very bad
things."
"That's why they're being prosecuted," he pointed out.
However, Borch emphasized, the president has mandated "full
and fair" trials for accused detainees.
The "court of public opinion will see that this was a full
and fair process," the colonel emphasized, "and the right
legal mechanism for handling terrorism in the war on
terrorism."
The detainees were seized during U.S. and coalition
military operations precipitated by the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on the United States. The al Qaeda
terrorist group, led by Osama bin Laden, is universally
believed to have planned and carried out the 9-11 attacks.
President George Bush, commander in chief of the U.S. armed
forces, determined on July 3, 2003, there is reason to
believe that each of the six enemy combatants was a member
of al Qaeda or was otherwise involved in terrorist acts
against the United States.
As such, the six detainees fall under the president's
Military Order of Nov. 13, 2001, which directed the
establishment of military commissions to provide full and
fair trials of enemy combatants suspected of having
committed war crimes against the United States, as
recognized under international law.