Rock Star JAG
posted by on November 1 at 17:15 PM
Just back from sneaking into a guest lecture by Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift—the Navy lawyer who defended Guantanamo Bay inmate Salim Ahmed Hamdan—at the Seattle University law school. Dude is pretty much a rock star, even though, through the military’s up or out promotion system, he’ll be out of a job come this spring. (He told me he plans on retiring in March or April and is still in the process of hunting for a new job.) Speaking before a room of (mostly) swooning law students, Swift gave a rambling yet tidy speech that mixed historical allusions, legal philosophizing and I’m-just-a-normal-guy bullshit calling.
He compared military tribunals to a Monty Python movie, in which the government armed itself with lances and swords, and left his side “to defend the accused with a sharp stick.ā€¯ His response, “Hey dude, let’s see if we can stick the stick in their eye.ā€¯ He said the commissions were designed to get the government out of that pesky obligation to confront the accused.
On the boundless battlefield created by the worldwide war on terror, he said we can all expect to have our phones tapped. He’s a self-described quote machine, and offered proof faster than I could scribble: “A war in which there are no rules, presidential power with no limitations…Stalin said everyone was a soldier. … If you pay taxes, welcome to the military.ā€¯
He also quoted James Madison (“a pretty smart guy,ā€¯ he said.) and Thomas Paine.
he's a great example of what a principled person looks like.
Charles wrote:
"he's a great example of what a principled person looks like."
Tap his phone!
yeah he soooooooo didn't make friends with the bush minions when he actually gave bin laden's driver an actual defense. passed over for promotions, etc. but dude, that guy could probably run for president.
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).