The military court trial of Salem Ahmed Hamden of Yemen, a close aide and personal driver of Osama Bin Laden (the world’s most wanted man) has begun at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, amid objections from European allies, human rights activists, and American Civil Liberties Union and Hamden’s defense lawyers.

Specifically, Hamden is charged with conspiracy and material support for terrorism, which qualifies him as a war criminal under the 2006 Military Commission Act. Hamden’s trial is to be immediately followed by the trial of Omar Khadar and five men facing death penalty charges for their alleged part in the September 11 terrorists attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. which took the lives of thousands of people. Hamden himself was captured at a checkpoint in Afghanistan with five missiles in his truck and admitted that he played a role in planning the 9/11 attacks on America.

Principal objections to military trials are that the Constitution’s equal protection clause would be violated if the accused were tried in a military court instead of a civilian court, that “due process” would be lacking and that “hearsay” evidence would not be barred.

Taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Hamden’s efforts to keep his trial out of military court failed when a Federal judge ruled that it may proceed without further delay at Guantanamo.

There are some differences in the rules of evidence and procedural due process issues between military and civilian trials. In civilian court trials, various constitutional and procedural technicalities often delay administration of justice. Nevertheless, the exigencies of war (including the war on terror) justify the more expedient trials before military tribunals where dilatory and delaying tactics are held in check.

Sufficient safeguards exist, however, to assure a fair trial. This has been well demonstrated by the war crimes trials in Germany and Japan following World War II when military courts rendered swift justice in trying, convicting and ordering the executions of numerous high ranking Nazi and Japanese military and civilian officials for their “crimes against humanity.”

Hamden’s conviction and that of other September 11 defendants would clearly inhibit the next administration from reversing a judicial system that would keep terrorists out of the U.S. territory, something that would resonate well with the American people.

(Editor’s Note: former Monterey Park Mayor and Councilman g. Monty Manibog is a regular contributor to our pages, offering legal tips to Journal readers.)

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