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Military Commissions Critic Praises New Military Commissions Chief « The Washington Independent

Jul 31, 202020.5K Shares457.7K Views
Air Force Col. Morris Davis was the chief prosecutor for the military commissions before his 2006 resignation in protest over what he considered to be the injustice of the system. And he has nothing but commendations for Adm. Bruce MacDonald, who’s reportedly about to become the new “convening authority” leading the commissions this year.
“If it’s true that the administration has selected retired Admiral Bruce MacDonald to replace Susan Crawford as the convening authority for the military commissions then they’ve made an excellent choice,” Davis said in an email. Davis continued:
Admiral MacDonald was The Judge Advocate General of the Navy during most of my two years as the chief prosecutor, and I met with him and the other TJAGs regularly. He was always personable, reasonable in his views, and a very bright lawyer. He was also supportive of me after I chose to resign and become a vocal critic of torture and the politicization of the military commissions, while many others treated me like a pariah. If the decision is to go forward with military commissions, it’s good to see that the person in charge of the process, the convening authority, will once again be a career military officer, particularly one as well-suited for the job as Admiral MacDonald. I haven’t had much good to say about the way the Obama administration has handled detainee issues, but I have to give them credit on this one.
Paula M. Graham

Paula M. Graham

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