Justice Files

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=215204&f=19

The Hamdan trial is over and it looks like he will have five months after accounting for the five years since he was charged. As I expected the military tribunal performed admirably and honorably.

But don't let people try to trick you into believing the system is any of those things. From forcing out the commission head and replacing him with a political flack to the ridiculous evidentiary standards, the process has been a black eye on the right to be assumed innocent and face ones accuser.

You also have to wonder if the December release date - which will force the current administration to decide whether to continue to detain him in their waining days - isn't a litmus test thrown down by the officers to test the motives of the architects of this flawed process.