" Next up before the military commissions: Bin Laden's pastry chef" LAT

[kpete]

Osama bin Laden, you ask?

Ah, no. He's still living it up somewhere in Pakistan, enjoying a good chuckle at our expense.

Wednesday instead saw the conviction of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who fessed up to being ... Bin Laden's driver. He was accordingly convicted of the "war crime" of "providing material support for terrorism." Next up before the military commissions: Bin Laden's pastry chef, for providing culinary support to terrorism.

............

But are these guys really the worst of the worst, evil terrorist masterminds who so threaten "the continuity of the operations of the United States government" that they couldn't possibly be tried in U.S. civilian courts?

After 6 1/2 years -- after detaining hundreds of people at Guantanamo, after trying interrogation techniques adapted from the Chinese and the KGB, after countless protests from the International Committee for the Red Cross, after alienating close allies and creating a cause celebre for our enemies -- have the military commissions really been worth it?

Wednesday's conviction of Hamdan may not even survive appeal. Hamdan was convicted of the "war crime" of providing "material support" for terrorism. But there's no international law precedent for viewing the provision of material support for terrorism as a "war crime." That fact will allow Hamdan's defense team to argue, on appeal, that the military commissions didn't properly have jurisdiction over those charges. (Hamdan was acquitted of conspiracy charges, but those charges will likely be faced by other detainees, and will confront a similar challenge).

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-brooks7-2008aug07,0,2617033.column

[TNOE]

1. A guy living in a cave

has a pastry chef?