I would like to start off by thanking Professor Saltzburg and the American Bar Association for honoring me with this award, and GeorgeWashingtonUniversity for hosting this reception. There are many other prosecutors around the country that are equally deserving of recognition like this, some of them assigned to military commissions, and I consider myself blessed beyond measure to be recognized in this manner.
My three years spent with military commissions were the most difficult of my career. I have many friends and family to thank for their support during that trying time, and several are in attendance here this evening. I especially want to thank my wife Kim, my sons Stuart and Matthew, and the rest of my family. This award is as much yours as it is mine, for without your love and sacrifice I would not be here today.
Next I wish to recognize the attendance of RADM Bruce MacDonald, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. Sir, I am honored by your presence, and appreciative for the support you have provided all the military practitioners involved in commissions - - prosecution and defense - - to do what is necessary to represent our respective clients. I also want to thank some of my brethren from the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals for their attendance tonight, CAPT Ed White and CAPT Dan O’Toole.
The honors the ABA has bestowed upon me and the Guantanamo defense counsel here tonight is a welcome recognition of what all military justice practitioners know: in the military, we are committed to fair play, open discovery, and the rule of law. To quote a military case from 1967, United States v. O’Such, we all recognize that “discipline requires justice and fair play no less than it does strictures and obedience.” I don’t often admit to being proud about much, but I am proud to be a part of the American military justice system, and to be counted among the committed professionals that practice in it.
I am very honored that my alma mater, Campbell University School of Law, is represented here tonight by one of my professors Woody Woodruff, Britt Davis, director of development; and several alumni. Even though he could not be with us tonight, I also want to recognize my trial coach and mentor, Professor Tom Anderson. Campbell’s stated commitment to develop lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence helped prepare me for the challenges I have faced. I hope whatever I have done reflects well upon our school. Thank you.
I want to thank Jess Bravin of the Wall Street Journal for writing the article just the way it happened. When the former chief prosecutor for military commissions, Colonel Moe Davis, asked if I would give an interview to Jess, I had no idea of what “third and fourth order effects” would transpire. Jess, thanks for convincing me that the message doesn’t get delivered without a messenger, and for telling the story like you did.
While I may have become a “poster child” for the issue of detainee treatment at the moment, the focus needs to be on the message and not the messenger, and the message is this: the torture of any human being is wrong. More specifically, the issue of detainee treatment touches and concerns every case that will be brought for prosecution before military commissions, and all participants in the process should be equipped to deal with it in ways that are consistent with our American values of fair play and justice, that maximize our credibility in the court of public opinion, and uphold this Nation’s obligations to duly ratified international treaties.
The challenge for all involved at this stage in the process - - Congress, the Executive branch, the Judiciary, and especially the trial participants - - is to clear a path forward so that as a Nation we can be proud of what we do in these prosecutions, while taking into account where we are and not where we wish we were. Judging by the outpouring of support and correspondence I have received since the Wall Street Journal article was published on March 31st, the issue of detainee treatment and its impact on the prosecution of suspected terrorists is one that resonates with Americans from across the spectrum of political and religious ideology.
While the practical issues I wrestled with in the Slahi case related to legal interpretations of international treaties and ethical duties as a prosecutor, my ultimate decision over what to do about it all was, in the end, informed by my faith as a Christian. The Judeo-Christian ethic which recognizes the dignity of all people is a consistent theme throughout American jurisprudence, and I would like to think my position on the issue is consistent with the guiding principles of our Founding Fathers. I know that it is consistent with my own Christian belief.
To be sure, the appropriate treatment of fellow human beings is a nonpartisan issue if there ever was one, and my hope is that our Nation’s collective deliberations over it will transcend the political acrimony that seems prevalent these days. This issue is simply too important for that, and reason is on our side. Our Nation needs to lay claim to the humane treatment of detainees not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans who recognize the inherent worth and value of fellow human beings, regardless of the despicable criminal acts they may have committed. Recalling the legislative debate over the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, I think Senator John McCain got it right: “It’s not about them, it’s about us.”
This is not a new concept for the citizens of this great country. The historical reputation of the United States as a heavyweight champion for human rights and the very text of the United States’ Declaration of Independence are strong evidence of this notion. So much of the legal debate has centered around what we can do with respect to permissible interrogation techniques. I for one would like to see an equally vigorous debate about what we should do as Americans and human beings. Humane treatment of inhumane people is not a novel concept for people in the military, and I believe that Americans are up to the challenge now that we are engaged in a global war on terrorism. Our enemy will lose this war because we are better than they are, not because we are more inhumane.
I would like to close my remarks by giving thanks to God, the author of all things and without whom I am nothing. He is due any credit or award that comes my way, but does not share in any blame for my inadequacies. In the words of the prophet Micah, He has told me what is good and what He requires of me, and that is to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.
Thank you.
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