Retired general named to supervise US military tribunals

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2003

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld named a retired general to supervise military tribunals that are expected to try prisoners held at a US military base in Guantanamo, Cuba, the Pentagon announced.

John Altenburg, who has been retired since 2002, will be "responsible for overseeing many aspects of the military commission process, including approving charges against individuals the president has determined are subject to the military order of November 13, 2001."

For 28 years, Altenburg served with the US Army as a specialist on legal affairs, according to the official announcement.

The Pentagon also appointed retired general Thomas Hemingway as Altenburg's legal adviser.

About 660 people of various nationalities, most of them...