Well, the US is hiding things, and should be. We have all talked a great deal about the intelligence failures that preceded the September 11th attacks, and we all know that the government is trying to correct those failures. If and when the government brings an actual terrorist to trial for involvement in the September 11th attacks, it will be a result of successful intelligence work. Intelligence work involves handling secrets, obtained from secret sources, often at great personal risk. This is the primary reason why military tribunals might make sense in this context; they can control the information and protect the sources to a much greater degree than open civilian courts can.

This ability to keep secrets is the greatest strength, and the greatest weakness, of military tribunals. In this country, at this moment in history, I am reasonably confident that this option will be used sparingly, and the tribunals will know that they are being watched by people who are uncomfortable about this Executive Order. I think we should keep an eye on this, but for the time being I think the limited military tribunal option makes sense.