Going to Ft. Meade — USS Cole Case

I will be attending the Guantanamo Bay hearings that are being simultaneously broadcast from GTMO to at Ft. Meade, Maryland next Tuesday and Wednesday. I know very little about the details of these proceedings, other than many I learned from media reports and from good general information I learned from Andrew Northern in my National Security Law course.
Pre-Departure Briefing
Last Friday, we had the opportunity to participate in a Pre-Departure Mission before we set out for our respective sites, Guantanamo Bay for some, and for other like myself, Ft. Meade, Maryland.

We were fortunate to have as our primary Briefing Mr. Rick Kammen, who is an Indianapolis attorney, who is the death penalty counsel in the USS Cole case, which happens to be the case I will be monitorin.

Mr. Kammen described in a very compelling fashion over the course of a few hours the point of view of the defense team and many of the difficulties encountered. He also provided a great basis for critical thinking about the process, pro and con.

This opportunity was extremely valuable, and together with the very extensive briefing book prepared by Professor Edwards’ Program in International Human Rights Law (PIHRL), I believe I will have an outstanding basis from which to begin viewing and thinking about the proceedings next week.

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