This essay is partly in response to Something The Dog Said’s essay on military commissions – I did not want to hijack the discussion there.
I am both a lawyer with a bit of training in international law and an officer of our armed forces (Switzerland, depository nation of the Geneva Conventions), which colours my view in this matter.
First off, I do not see anything intrinsically wrong with military commissions; the questions I have is:
– What is the objective?
– Who will come before the military commissions?
– Why bother?