Military commissions: fair or foul?

Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, who responded negatively to my Op-Ed article explaining my resignation, had an opportunity on Dec. 11 to appear with me and engage in thoughtful debate, under oath, at a Senate hearing on the rights of Guantanamo detainees. An order issued by the Office of the Secretary of Defense on Dec. 6 prohibited me from accepting Sen. Dianne Feinstein's invitation to testify. This latest action to silence me was consistent with the gag order Hartmann gave me on Oct. 4 after I resigned, expressly forbidding me to communicate with anyone in the news media about the reasons for my resignation. In a figurative sense, I suppose I'm not the first person associated with Guantanamo to be bound and gagged before having cold water poured on him, although in my case it is intended to induce me not to talk.

By Morris D. Davis

December 26, 2007