Word: pentagonal
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...wake of the 2007 incident in which six such guards were responsible for the murders of 17 innocent Iraqis on a drive through Baghdad’s Nisoor Square, company spokespeople and the Pentagon have endlessly reminded the American public of the special exigencies of war, and the vital role that entities like Blackwater have in filling the gaps that an overstretched military cannot plug...
TIME has obtained a variety of internal memos circulating at the Department of Defense that detail possible rule changes at Gitmo, if the camp and its controversial legal system survive. The proposals - under discussion but not formally adopted - could be included in the Pentagon's official "Manual for Military Commissions," a handbook of rules for the controversial proceedings. What follows are excerpts from those memos...
...Last year's shooting incident prompted greater U.S oversight of its outsourced warriors in the first operational theater to see the Pentagon rely so extensively on hired guns. The U.S government, its Iraqi counterpart and other groups have paid between $6 billion and $10 billion to private security contractors in Iraq from the start of the war in 2003 through to 2007, according to a Congressional Budget Office report published in August. And, as U.S troops draw down ahead of the planned complete withdrawal in 2010, the role of security contractors here may even expand...
...result of that and other testimony, military judges found that Hartmann had breached legally mandated impartiality and shown bias against defendants. They barred him from any participation in three important trials at Guantánamo. At that point, Hartmann moved from his job as the Pentagon's top independent legal adviser on the trials to become the principal administrator and point of contact with the incoming Obama Administration...
...spokesman for Hartmann said the general was not available for interviews and would have no comment. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, the Pentagon's second highest official, did issue the following statement to TIME: "Misunderstandings of the military commission process have led to confusion and controversy. In this environment, BGEN Tom Hartmann has been the steady hand to ensure that the process is open, fair and just. I am grateful for his strong, focused and effective leadership during these dangerous and challenging times." England, who reports to Pentagon boss Robert Gates, is expected to leave in the coming weeks...