1115.org

That seems to sum up the justice we propose to dispense to Guantanamo detainees by way of the military commission trials that start today, with the trial of Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Hamdan.

We probably don’t even need to look beyond this one simple fact to appreciate the transparent kangaroo court nature of these trials:

Unlike a civilian trial, even if the defendant is acquitted of conspiracy and material support of terrorism charges, he probably will not be released.

But there are also extremely embarrassing procedural aspects of these trials, which make them fall far short of accepted international standards of justice:

Evidence obtained from “cruel” and “inhuman” interrogation methods is admissible in certain circumstances, as is hearsay evidence.

So it’s probably not surprising, in the up-is-down world of Bush’s War Against Terror, to see the military commissions’ chief prosecutor, Col. Lawrence Morris, proudly declaim thusly:

We’re looking at it in two veins, primarily as bringing Mr. Hamdan to justice but also we’re well aware that in doing that at the individual level it provides the first opportunity to test and validate this process.

Validate. Just another word that no longer means what it use to mean.