A lawyer who came to prominence for his full-throated defense of a subsequently convicted terrorist was quietly promoted to the No. 3 slot at the Department of Justice last month, a post that puts him in charge of the administration’s policy regarding Guantanamo Bay detainees.
The move has raised red flags on Capitol Hill and elsewhere among national security stalwarts who argue that the promotion could imperil the country’s longstanding war on terrorism.
The Obama administration appointee at the center of the debate is Tony West, a longtime Justice Department lawyer who received national attention for his aggressive defense of John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban who is currently serving 20-years in prison for colluding with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and taking up arms against U.S. troops.
Late last month, President Obama appointed West as the DOJ’s acting associate attorney general, a posting that does not require Senate confirmation. He formally began the job on Monday.
Defendants are supposed to get the best defense that the defense lawyer can provide.
If you want to argue that he shouldn’t have gotten a trial at all, that’s one thing. If you’re saying that the defense should have intentionally sold Lindh down the river while putting on an imitation of an actual defense, that would be called a ‘show trial’ (I’m assuming you agree that’s un-American?).
Alternatively you could argue that being a criminal defense lawyer means that someone is unreliable or is of poor character or something. I think that’s a common opinion (it’s a lot easier to be elected based on a prosecutorial resume than one based on criminal defense) but it’s pernicious to our system of justice. Defendants are legally entitled to a defense and it shouldn’t be held against lawyers if they perform this necessary service.
A joint NATO-Afghan investigation into the Bagram Air Field incident, wherein Korans that “contained extremist messages or inscriptions” had been seized from detainees and burned concluded on March 13th that it was not a malicious act intended to show disrespect for Afghans or Islam.
BUT the US wants to review the actions of OUR military men for possible disciplinary action!
NATO cleared our people.
Obama should do the same.
And where is Karzai’s apology to us for his people shooting at OUR people?
Seems our DOJ has a mindset that WE are always the bad guys and the taliban are good.
Maybe it is time to re-set the priorities of our DOJ.
Dr. J. Slow Day?