Court Opinion

ID: 9725311
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 11:40:15.730528+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:13.820205
License: Public Domain

Judge SIMS
concurring.
Although I concur in the analysis and the result reached by the majority, I write separately to emphasize the long-standing public position of the United States Army regarding the issue of whether the offenses in question in appellant’s case, as defined by Congress in the Military Commissions Acts of 2006 and 2009, were properly recognized as existing war crimes. From 1956 onward the United States Army has consistently and explicitly recognized the following acts as being war crimes punishable under international law:
1. Conspiracy to Commit a War Crime;
2. Direct Incitement of a War Crime;
3. Attempted Commission of a War Crime; and
4. Complicity in the Commission of a War Crime.
See Field Manual 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare, Ch. 8, § II, Crimes under International Law, ¶ 500 (July 1956) (1956 FM 27-10).147 As such, this field manual pre*1265dates the existence of al-Qaeda, the birth of appellant, the events of September 11, 2001, the enactment of the Military Commissions Acts, and appellant’s trial by military commission. Although the manual does not have the force of binding legal precedent, it nonetheless serves as persuasive evidence of the view of the United States as to the state of the law of armed conflict from the aftermath of World War II, through the Cold War, and to the present.
Accordingly, when a person such as appellant chooses to commit any of the aforementioned acts against the United States, he or she should not be surprised to find themselves in the custody of the United States military facing trial by military commission for these long-standing violations of the law of war.

. 1956 FM 27-10, Ch. 8, § II, ¶¶ 499-500 provide:
498. Crimes Under International Law. Any person, whether a member of the armed forces or a civilian, who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefor and liable to punishment. Such offenses in connection with war comprise: a. Crimes against peace, b. Crimes against humanity, c. War crimes.
Although this manual recognizes the criminal responsibility of individuals for those offenses which may comprise any of the foregoing types of crimes, members of the armed forces will normally be' concerned, only with those offenses constituting "war crimes.”
499. War Crimes. The term "war crime” is the technical expression for a violation of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. Every violation of the law of war is a war crime.
500. Conspiracy, Incitement, Attempts, and Complicity. Conspiracy, direct incitement, and attempts to commit, as well as complicity in the commission of, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes are punishable.