Analysis of military commissions: Challenged from within

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Analysis of military commissions: Challenged from within

In disqualifying a top Pentagon official from one war crimes case, a Navy judge opened the door to more opposition of Guantanamo Bay prosecutions.

By WILLIAM GLABERSON, New York Times

Last update: May 10, 2008 - 6:26 PM

A military judge's decision on Friday to disqualify a top Pentagon official from any further role in a Guantanamo war crimes case was a major new challenge to the Bush administration's legal approach to the war on terrorism.

The ruling in the case against Salim Hamdan, a detainee who was a driver for Osama bin Laden, transformed what had been something of a Pentagon soap opera over how to prosecute detainees into a formal ruling that gave new force to critics' accusations of improper political influence over this country's first use of military commissions since World War II.

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