Extreme Courage Under Fire

From today's NYTimes:

[Rep. Duncan Hunter [R], who heads the House Armed Services Committee] presented the military lawyers with various scenarios in which it might be necessary to withhold evidence from the accused if it would expose classified information. But the service's top lawyers said other alternatives must be explored -- or the case dropped.

''I believe the accused should see that evidence,'' said Maj. Gen. Scott Black, the Army's Judge Advocate General.

Black and the other lawyers said such an allowance was a fundamental right in other court systems and would meet requirements under the Geneva Conventions.

But Hunter suggested that such a requirement could hamper prosecutions.

''Some of these acts of complicity in terrorist acts are very small pieces . . . and you don't have a lot of evidence,'' he said. The chairman repeated a scenario where the only piece of evidence would expose the identity of a secret agent and asked whether it would make sense to drop the case entirely.

''You get to the end of the trail, then yes sir, you do,'' Black responded.



That is awesomeness. Feel free to cheer in your chair. Go ahead, do it. Even just a little. It feels good to huzzah the best of America.

(And, under this same heading, here's something for the broadbanders out there.)