Top Military Lawyers Dislike Tribunal Plan

A group of influential GOP senators who have been critical of the administration's proposal worked through the day to try to come up with a compromise. Republican leaders -- looking to highlight their party's efforts in fighting terrorism in advance of the November midterm elections -- are pushing for a vote on new rules for military commissions by the end of the month.

President Bush exhorted Congress on Wednesday to adopt his plan for holding trials for terrorism suspects, including the most notorious prisoners in U.S. custody. The Supreme Court in June struck down the administration's previous tribunal system.

"I think we're making some progress," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.) said after one round of closed-door meetings. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a key negotiator who at one point rushed down a hallway in a Senate office building accompanied by administration officials, said only that he was optimistic an agreement could be reached.

The flurry of activity occurred as Pentagon lawyers took issue with a key provision of the administration's proposal: permitting judges to deny suspects the right to see classified evidence used against them.

"I can't imagine any military judge believing that an accused has had a full and fair hearing if all the government's evidence that was introduced was classified and the accused was not able to see any of it," the Navy's judge advocate general, Rear Adm. Bruce E. MacDonald, told the House Armed Services Committee.

Brig. Gen. James C. Walker, U.S. Marine Corps staff judge advocate, added: "I'm not aware of any situation in the world where there is a system of jurisprudence that is recognized by civilized people, where an individual can be tried and convicted without seeing the evidence against him. And I don't think that the United States needs to become the first in that scenario."

Supporters of the proposal said they worried that allowing terrorism suspects to see classified information could threaten national security.

"In the midst of the current conflict, we cannot share with captured terrorists the highly sensitive intelligence relevant to some military commission prosecutions," Steven G. Bradbury, acting assistant attorney general, told the committee.