PDA

View Full Version : MILITARY: Local attorney helped shape Guantanamo decision



thedrifter
02-04-09, 07:56 AM
MILITARY: Local attorney helped shape Guantanamo decision

By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

When President Barack Obama signed an executive order two weeks ago closing the Guantanamo Bay prison for suspected terrorists, Carlsbad military attorney David Brahms was among those standing by him in the Oval Office.

Brahms was part of a group of retired military generals who advocated for a return to established methods for interrogating detainees without using torture. It was through that effort that he was invited to the White House on Jan. 22 when Obama signed the order.

"I thanked him for making the rule of law paramount again," said Brahms, a retired Marine Corps brigadier general who once was the service's top legal officer.

The White House invitation culminated the work for the 16 retired generals and admirals who worked with Human Rights First, a nonprofit Washington group, to end torture techniques and harsh interrogation methods of terror detainees.

The retired military officers issued a statement after the event saying the order restores the moral authority of the United States.

"By unequivocally rejecting torture and other cruel and inhumane treatment, shutting down secret prisons, providing Red Cross access to prisoners in U.S. custody, rejecting the legal opinions that facilitated and excused torture, and announcing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison, President Obama has rejected the false choice between national security and our ideals," the statement read.

The practices at Guantanamo led to worldwide condemnation and criticisms that detainees were not being afforded basic legal rights. It also prompted the retired officers to get involved, said Brahms, 71, who was director of the Marine Corps Judge Advocate division from 1983-88.

"We added our voices with respect to the belief that the treatment of detainees violated international law and domestic law and was at odds with generations of practice," he said. "Guantanamo has become a terrible black eye for our country."

The Guantanamo closure has put Camp Pendleton on a short list of possible relocation sites for detainees who remain in custody once the U.S. Naval Base prison in Cuba is shuttered. Local lawmakers such as U.S. Reps. Duncan D. Hunter, R-El Cajon, Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, and Darrell Issa, R-Vista, are resisting any such effort.

Brahms, who has practiced military law at Camp Pendleton since leaving the Marine Corps, agrees with the lawmakers.

"I have grave concerns about whether Camp Pendleton is suitable for anything other than Marines who have gone on unauthorized absence," Brahms said. "It's just not a suitable facility ---- it's just your basic old brig."

As for the 90 minutes he spent at the White House, Brahms said the group had a chance to talk with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden before the order was signed.

"He looked like a million bucks, he filled the room and he seemed to genuinely like interacting with us," Brahms said of Obama. "While I recognize my role was small in all this, I was damn proud to have been there."

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

Ellie