A Top Military Adviser Talks About War Crimes

Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann

Some have said that having the 9/11 trials—even if the men are convicted—will turn them into martyrs for the cause. Do you think this could hurt the broader U.S. effort in the war on terror?
The mission of the military commissions is to provide fair, just, and transparent trials. And we will do that. And I'll tell you these protections we are making available [to the accused] are unprecedented in the history of warfare. They exceed what was available at Nuremberg. They exceed the international criminal tribunals at Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Yugoslavia. They are in many, many ways virtually identical and at least parallel to the rights we provide to our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, which is a tremendous reflection on the American attitude toward justice and the American justice system.