A true hero."As a military officer," explains Lt. Cmndr. Charles Swift Charles D. Swift is a Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) in the U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General's Corps. He is assigned to the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions and is most famous for having served as defense counsel for Salim Ahmed Hamdan. , "I deeply respect the president. But I also believe it's my duty as a military officer to point out when he is wrong." Swift, a 12-year veteran of the Navy's Judge Advocate General judge advocate general (J.A.G.) n. a military officer who advises the government on courts-martial and administers the conduct of courts-martial. The officers who are judge advocates and counsel assigned to the accused come from the office of the judge advocate (JAG judge advocate general (J.A.G.) n. a military officer who advises the government on courts-martial and administers the conduct of courts-martial. The officers who are judge advocates and counsel assigned to the accused come from the office of the judge advocate ) Corps, was appointed as legal counsel for Salim Ahmed Hamdan For Hamdan's Supreme Court case, see . Salim Ahmed Hamdan (born 1970 (no one, including Hamdan himself, knows for sure[1])) is a Yemeni, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. , an inmate at Guantanamo Bay Noun 1. Guantanamo Bay - an inlet of the Caribbean Sea; a United States naval station was established on the bay in 1903 bay, embayment - an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf , in December 2003. His assignment, reported Bloomberg News on March 28, was "to help the Yemeni man plead guilty" before a military tribunal on terrorism-related charges. However, after meeting Hamdan, Swift "concluded the man wanted to fight any charges against him." He later told a Senate panel that he saw the tribunal's actions as "a clear attempt to coerce Mr. Hamdan into pleading guilty" by threatening him with the loss of his legal representation. As a Naval officer NAVAL OFFICER. The name of an officer of the United States, whose duties are prescribed by various acts of congress. 2. Naval officers are appointed for the term of four years, but are removable from office at pleasure. Act of May 15, 1820, Sec. 1, 3 Story, L. and patriot, Swift was committed to upholding the principles of our constitutional system, which he believes are severely compromised by the Bush administration's special military tribunals because they operate with none of the due process guidelines found in any properly constituted judicial body. Acting as "next friend" on behalf of Hamdan (since the tribunal would not permit Hamdan to act on his own behalf), Swift filed a lawsuit against the military tribunal system; the case was argued before the Supreme Court on March 28. "I am incredibly proud of military justice as a whole," states Swift, despite conflicts he has experienced with his superiors. "If you start thinking about your career over your duty," he concludes, "it's time to get out." |
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