Four months after the Obama administration missed its deadline to close Guantánamo, the deeply flawed military commissions system has resumed there with closely watched pre-trial proceedings in the case of Omar Khadr beginning this week.
Unlike the federal criminal courts, the military commissions are new and lack experience in dealing with complex international terrorism trials. Since 9/11, the military commissions have completed only three terrorism-related cases, with two of three convicted defendants already released. Federal courts, on the other hand, have successfully completed over 400 terrorism-related cases. And despite a missed deadline, no rules have yet been promulgated to comply with the latest military commissions legislation. Basic questions about how the proceedings will operate remain unanswered, such as whether a defendant in the military commissions can plead guilty to a death penalty charge.
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