REPATRIATE GAMES

Bowing to Ally, Bush to Rethink Tribunals for British Subjects (NEIL A. LEWIS, 7/19/03, NY Times)

After being pressed by Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, President Bush said today that his administration was reconsidering whether and under what circumstances to bring any British subjects captured in the Afghanistan war before American military tribunals.

Mr. Bush, in a statement released in Texas where he was traveling today, also said that anyone from Australia subject to a military tribunal would similarly have his case reconsidered. He said that delegations of legal experts from Britain and Australia would go to Washington next week to negotiate with American officials about the disposition of those prisoners.

[A] British official said today that his country's legal delegation would discuss options with their American counterparts, including sending back to the United Kingdom the nine Britons in custody. But a problem with such repatriation, the official acknowledged, is that the British government may not then be able to guarantee that the nine would be prosecuted there. Those decisions are made independently by law enforcement agencies and the crown prosecution service.

An Australian official noted today that the government had been generally supportive of the military tribunals and said the Australian delegation would most likely seek assurances of procedural steps to guarantee a fair trial. The official said Australia was unlikely to seek repatriation of its two citizens.

The Brits of course want to moan about it but not have to take responsibility for trying the guys. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 19, 2003 6:14 AM