Fancy That Marty Lederman The Combatant Status Review Tribunal proceedings to determine whether detainees are "enemy combatants" are basically a farce. Or so it appears from an affidavit filed by an Army officer involved in the proceedings, Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, a 26-year veteran of military intelligence, Army reserve officer, and California lawyer.



Abraham explains that there was virtually no chance of decisionmakers being afforded access to possibly exculpatory information, even after repeated requests. Moreover, they were pressured to find that detainees are "enemy combatants," notwithstanding the lack of solid evidence. "What were purported to be specific statements of fact lacked even the most fundamental earmarks of objectively credible evidence," Abraham attested.



There's more. Read the whole thing. If most or all of this affidavit is true and representative of the CSRTs as a whole, well, then, it's entirely understandable why the Administration is so fiercely committed to the argument that the Due Process Clause should not apply at Guantanamo.



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