Having been granted presidential authority to try alleged members of Osama
bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization before military tribunals, Pentagon planners are scouting
remote locations to hold the controversial trials.
Under consideration are the Pacific islands of Guam and Wake, the Guantanamo military base
in Cuba and U.S. Navy vessels on the high seas.
As well as keeping trials far from civil libertarians and the prying eyes of the media, an
isolated military base would provide the best security for detaining al-Qaeda fighters. The
danger such prisoners pose was demonstrated by the recently quelled rebellion at Mazar-e
Sharif, where as many as 600 al-Qaeda and Taliban inmates seized weapons and fought to
the last man against a furious counter-assault.
The secret military tribunals, approved by George W. Bush, the U.S. President, on Nov. 13,
have provoked protest from left and right, as well as worries from U.S. allies.
Michael Chertoff, Assistant Attorney-General, defended the tribunals before the U.S. Senate,
where legislators have expressed dismay at not being consulted.
"Are we being aggressive and hard-nosed? You bet," Mr. Chertoff told the Senate judiciary
committee. "In the aftermath of Sept. 11, how could we not be?"
The military tribunals, which can try only non-citizens, have looser rules of evidence than
civilian courts. The judge and jury will be made up of military officers. Verdicts and sentences,
including the death penalty, will be by majority vote, not unanimity. Verdicts cannot be
appealed.
Such tribunals were last used during the Second World War, when the U.S. Supreme Court
found they were legal.
The administration argues that civilian courts might feel intimidated trying accused terrorists.
It says such cases present unique difficulties because they could compromise intelligence
sources and would be based on evidence gathered in wartorn Afghanistan.
"We face an extraordinary threat to our national security and physical safety of the American
people of a character that, at least in my lifetime, we have never faced before," said Mr.
Chertoff, arguing that extraordinary measures are justified by the magnitude of the threat.
London's Daily Telegraph reported that 13 suspected al-Qaeda fighters were being flown to a
U.S. military base in the Pacific, possibly Wake Island.
The Pentagon would not confirm the report.
