Wendy Kelly

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Wendy Kelly is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Army Reserves.[1] In 2005 Kelly was appointed the director of operations of the Office of Military Commissions, a job the Philadelphia Inquirer describes as "...the executive producer of America's forthcoming terrorism trials...". The Inquirer reports that part of her responsibilities include overseeing the construction of complex where the Guantanamo military commissions would convene. The Inquirer also reported: "Back in Washington, in an unmarked, secure corner office near the Pentagon, Kelly helps draft terrorism-trial rules and reviews proposed formal charges against detainees, including top-secret evidence."

According to the Inquirer Kelly said[1]:

"On one hand, you have our ideal of the presumption of innocence, and then you have the notion that you are dealing with people who could be - well, most likely are - guilty of terrible crimes and are our sworn enemy. How you handle that is the challenge."

"Every time you talk about Guantanamo, it sets off people's buttons, either rightly because they know what's happening, or wrongly because they think they know."

"I'm sure most Americans think, 'To hell with them. Why should we give them a fair trial? They're terrorists.' It's true that we don't have to provide a trial for any of these people. We have the legal right to keep them until the conflict is over, which may be five years or may be 100 years. But if you're going to provide trials - for the sake of the United States and the JAG [military legal] corps, because we are the ones who are going to be judged - they have to be fair."

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b | url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20071209_Mission__Fairness.htmlJohn Schiffman. "Mission: Fairness", Philadephia Inquirer, December 9, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.