The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in their editorial, "Guantanamo's tainted trials" uses the words of yet another decorated veteran to falsely accuse the military of a, "political agenda [that] has compromised the justice system at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."

To prove their case they quote decorated retired Air Force Colonel Morris D. "Mo" Davis. First we thank Colonel "Mo"Davis [pictured here] for his service to this great nation.

The editorial board uses this respected veteran as a hammer to strike at the administration of President Bush. The editorial board states, "Abusive interrogations, imprisonment without charges and broken rules of evidence are some of the ways that the White House, Justice Department and Pentagon have compromised traditional American principles of justice following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

What they don't tell you is what Colonel Davis said in his June 26, 2007 New York Times op-ed article, "The Guantanamo I know".

In his op-ed piece Colonel Davis states, "LINDSEY GRAHAM, a Republican senator from South Carolina, is right: “The image of Guantánamo Bay and the reality of Guantánamo Bay are completely different.” It is disappointing that so many embrace a contrived image. Reality for Guantánamo Bay is the daily professionalism of its staff, the humanity of its detention centers and the fair and transparent nature of the military commissions charged with trying war criminals. It is a reality that has been all but ignored or forgotten."

Colonel Davis goes on to say, "Some imply that if a defendant does not get a trial that looks like Martha Stewart’s and ends like O. J. Simpson’s, then military commissions are flawed. They are mistaken. The Constitution does not extend to alien unlawful enemy combatants. They are entitled to protections under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which ensures they are afforded “all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”

"Justice John Paul Stevens, in the Hamdan decision that rejected an earlier plan for military commissions, observed that Article 75 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions defines the judicial guarantees recognized as indispensable. A comparison of Article 75 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006 shows military commissions provide the fundamental guarantees."

According to Wikipedia, "[Colonel] Davis called the Supreme Court's intention to review the Military Commissions Act "meddling": "This constant uncertainty and meddling certainly takes a toll on people, It would be nice to have some certainty for a change."

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial board does not explain why Colonel Davis resigned as chief prosecutor. They state, "Davis resigned last fall as the Pentagon's chief prosecutor of terrorism cases. He said at the time he felt pressure from superiors to win convictions before U.S. elections this November so the administration could say the Guantanamo trial system works.

This is not true, which means it is a lie. Colonel Davis resigned because he did not like his new boss.

In October 2007 Colonel Davis resigned from his position as Chief Prosecutor and became the Head of the Air Force Judiciary stating that "The guy who said waterboarding is A-okay I was not going to take orders from, I quit", hours after he was informed that General Counsel William Haynes would be his superior.

Finally, Colonel Davis has been highly critical of other officers who have used their positions to make political statements.

In a March 5, 2007 New York Time article by Raymond Bonner titled, "Terror Case Prosecutor Assails Defense Lawyer" states, "The prosecutor, Col. Morris D. Davis, said that the lawyer, Maj. Michael Mori of the United States Marine Corps, should not be making public appearances in Australia in uniform on behalf of his client, David Hicks, and that he faced possible prosecution for some of his remarks."

The article goes on to state, "He [Major Mori] compared Colonel Davis’s statements with remarks made last year by a senior Pentagon official, Charles D. Stimson, who was then the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, who said that corporations should consider not using law firms that represented Guantánamo detainees pro bono. His remarks brought a torrent of objections, and he was forced to resign."

Colonel "Mo" Davis was a fierce prosecutor of terrorists. He said, "Remember if you dragged Dracula out into the sunlight he melted? Well, that's kind of the way it is trying to drag a [terrorist] detainee into the courtroom."

We again thank Colonel "Mo" Davis for his service. We have tried to provide the full story and background on this issue, unlike the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

We are concerned that the Sarasota Herald-Tribune is in a precipitous retreat from journalistic and ethical standards as they push their single-minded political agenda.