Openness urged in military commission policy revisions

A group of civil liberties advocates, human rights activists and other interested parties are urging the Defense Department to make military commission procedures more open as it revises its rules and policies, The National Law Journal reported.

The military commission system was created during the Bush administration to try high-profile terrorism suspects and updated twice by Congress after legal challenges. President Obama is rumored to be considering trying the architects of the 9/11 attacks in commissions and not in federal courtrooms as was initially expected.

The secretary of Defense is expected to sign the policy after it is adopted and send it to Congress for approval immediately thereafter. The timeline would not include a window for public comment, despite it being common practice for federal agencies to allow time for the public to suggest changes to proposed policies.

Though Obama himself once described the military commission policies "a mess" The Miami Herald reported that the Pentagon would resume trying Guantanamo Bay detainees in military commissions on Wednesday before any policy changes were adopted.