Restarting Flawed Military Commissions Will Endanger National Security

The House Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing
this afternoon to examine the legal implications of reforming the
military commission system for trials of suspected terrorists. In May,
President Obama announced his plan to revive the military commissions
for a number of detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay.
Although the Constitution Project welcomes Congress' efforts to
evaluate this crucial policy matter carefully, the Project urges
Congress to ultimately reject this dangerous proposal.

The
panel of witnesses that will testify before the Housed Armed Service
comprises current judge advocates general and staff judge advocates
from the four branches of the United States military. A substantial
number of other prominent military and counterterrorism officials and
experts have voiced their opposition to reinstating the military
commissions. These individuals have highlighted the significant
national security costs and damage to our international credibility
that would accompany the creation of a revised military commission
scheme.

The following is an excerpt from a statement opposing
military commissions issued by Stephen Abraham, a retired Lieutenant
Colonel in the United States Army and member of the Constitution
Project's Liberty and Security Committee. Speaking as an individual,
Lieutenant Colonel Abraham says:

"I have witnessed firsthand military proceedings purporting to
satisfy fundamental rights embodied in our Constitution...Military
commissions are an unacceptable substitute for our federal courts that
have demonstrated time and again that they can handle such cases as
these without diminishing our national security or shared values. Are
we so weary - or fearful - of the institutions upon which our Nation's
heritage has been established that we would so easily discard them?"