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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Engrossing, June 10, 2008
This review is from: Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials (Hardcover)
This afternoon, my mailman delivered a box to my door. It was Kyndra Miller Rotunda's book, Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials. I decided to take a moment to give it a quick skim.
At least that's what I initially intended to do.
It's now several hours later, and I just put it down.
I can't recall the last book that I read entirely in one sitting!
In a word, this book is phenomenal! It is that rare find of a book that is scholarly, well researched and extensively referenced, yet eminently readable.
And what an interesting and timely topic!
This is the inside story of "Gitmo" that had to be written, and must be read!
I'd write more here, but I have to get something to eat!
Great job, Ms. Rotunda!
William J. Kresse
Associate Professor
Saint Xavier University, Chicago
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-Opening First-Hand Account, January 25, 2009
This review is from: Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials (Hardcover)
Kyndra Miller Rotunda's "Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials" is an eye-opening first-hand account of a small slice of the "legal" war on terror fought at Guantanamo Bay. This book shows a different side of Guantanamo Bay and the military commissions - a side that has never been told in the popular press.
Rotunda was an Army JAG officer that served a tour at Guantanamo Bay and a tour as a prosecutor on the military commissions. Her story is personal and at times very much of a memoir as she discusses her personal journeys and even some of her military training. It is not a scholarly discussion of the legal issues regarding the detainees, although it does contain succinct (but somewhat shallow) discussions on many relevant points of international law.
Rotunda is very defensive of the way the detainees were treated at Guantanamo Bay. She is also very critical of the way the military commissions have been run by the government; she says that the government has bent over backwards to give the detainees more rights than they are entitled to or (or deserve), while also sitting back and not defending itself against baseless charges made by the detainees, by the media, or by international organizations. At times you can tell she writes from frustration with the many hurdles that the Department of Defense and the government placed on the prosecutors. She is also extremely critical of the two judges she dealt with as a prosecutor for their inconsistent rulings, their efforts to bend over to help the detainees, and even their checkered past as military judges.
While an interesting and enlightening read, it does suffer from a few weaknesses. For one, Rotunda played minor role for a short period of time as a prosecutor for the military commissions, so there was a lot more going on "inside the Guantanmo Trials" than Rotunda is aware of. At one point, Rotunda implies that if the Supreme Court decision "Brady v. Maryland" had been handed down before World War II, the Nuremberg prosecutors would have had to abide by it. Another weakness is the tiny sidebars called "JAG Facts" which are really little factual nuggets regarding whatever is being discussed in the text and often have nothing to do with Army lawyers. Also, one chapter is entitled "The Justice Department Back-Peddles [sic] on Torture" and the book uses inconsistent footnoting styles; I can't help but wonder how a self-entitled "academic press" allowed those errors to get to print.
Ultimately, this is a very good book that tells an interesting story about the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. However, this story is just a tiny piece of the real story, the view from one lawyer's foxhole that completely omits the larger policy questions and discussions that were going on in higher levels of the government. Anyone with an interest in the inside story, even just a small piece of it, of the military commissions should read this book, and it will certainly serve as a good primary source for future chroniclers.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Nobility of Law, Truth, and the US Military, May 25, 2010
This review is from: Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials (Hardcover)
As throughout history, the United States of America's freedom is under attack. Ultra-liberal self-loathers steer the culture toward an unethical ditch, radical Islam seeks to destroy it, and many Americans are too busy to care. Herein is an alluring and fascinating eye-witness report of military justice in dealing with captured terrorists. Major Rotunda delivers outstanding advice on how the military and civilian realms should protect liberty and human rights. In "Honor Bound," Kyndra Rotunda offers a fine picture of the men and women in uniform as they defend all that we hold dear with honor and nobility.
Endorsed by:
- Dennis Miller: Radio Show host
- Edwin Meese: Former U.S. Attorney General
- Ted Olson: Former Solicitor General of the U.S
- and many prominent conservatives.
The author furnishes an exceptional volume through her hands-on standpoint forasmuch as she served in the military in various posts including:
- The legal advisor at Guantanamo Bay
- An associate with the Criminal Investigations Task Force
- Legal counsel to the military law enforcement representatives (interviewed terrorist detainees).
- JAG prosecuting lawyer.
"Honor Bound" is a captivating volume of contemporary history that discusses essential legal issues of war, terrorists, the Geneva Conventions, and war criminals and how it all relates to military commissions. This page-turner provides intriguing stories immersed in an accurate view of the relation of law and war.
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