Controversy on Bush's Military Tribunal Plan
Ever since the September 11th attack, the U.S. has been trying to find ways to deal with terrorists. We have increased our security, and become more alert to details that may have seemed trivial prior to the attack. We have also found ways to search for and kill terrorists. We have not yet, however, decided on a way to try the terrorists once they have been caught. President Bush has proposed a plan to try terrorists in military tribunals. However, there is some opposition to his plan, as some people say his plan is unlawful, or just too broad and unclear. The Geneva Convention is an international policy that specifies the required treatment of a prisoner of war. Some critics in the Congress say that Bush's plan for a military tribunal goes against Geneva Convention standards. In 1949, both the U.S. and Afghanistan ratified the policy, but enforcement of the treaty has not been strict (Wedgwood A11). According to the Geneva Convention, legal combatants must follow the Uniform Military Code of Justice (Ford 1). However, Al Qaeda soldiers do not follow the code, and therefore are illegal combatants. President Bush stated that anyone who fought for the Taliban could not be eli- gible for POW status, making them subject to trial by
Also, the trials held by a tribunal should be possible only for a small set of cases, instead of being used for basic mili- tary trials (Dellinger A39). In Afghanistan, most of their citizens support military tri- bunals and say it is worth casualties in their country for the sake of Bin Laden's capture. Neither the Taliban nor Al Qaeda can meet all these standards, making them totally subject to trial by military tribunals. Judicial review must be provided, especially since these trials by tribunals are conducted without the knowledge of the public. To convict a suspect, there must be a 2/3 vote; otherwise, the suspect cannot be convicted (Eversley A4). ; crimes committed by these people are not considered acts of terrorism. There are some questions on how to convict and try terrorists. It is still uncertain, however just how Bush's mili- tary tribunal plan will turn out. What is the exact definition of a terrorist? How should they be treated? First of all, there must be a line separating acts of terrorism and mere criminal acts. Bush's military tribunal order also applies to non-U. Once person, Samuel Mudd, who should have been guilty but was acquitted, was not tried by a military tribunal; most New Yorkers at the time thought he should have been.
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