Guantanamo Detainee Rejects Court Procedure

Capt. Keith J. Allred, who presided over today's hearing, called Hamdan's own statement eloquent. He told Hamdan he understood his frustration after long confinement but implored him to participate.

"This trial will give you an opportunity to see the evidence against you, after all these years. It will give you the opportunity to call your witnesses, and a group of people who we hope will be fair and impartial will make a decision about your guilt or your innocence," Allred said.

Allred said Hamdan should have "great faith in American law" because his fate has already been considered once by the Supreme Court, which decided in June 2006 that an earlier system of military commissions was unlawful and did not respect the international laws of war.

"You were the winner. Your name is printed in our law books. You beat the United States once in our system with these attorneys who are here with you today," Allred said of the decision, which forced the Bush administration to obtain explicit congressional support for revised procedures.

Allred further said that the commission will proceed with or without Hamdan, and that if Hamdan fired his attorneys, others would be appointed to represent him. Allred argued that the current commission system is the law of the land, and is fair.

Hamdan, however, said the conditions of his confinement and the system that will decide his fate are both unfair. "What do you want from us?" Hamdan asked, at one point raising his hands and at another saying his words were not for Allred but for the American government. "You want us to confess to things we did not do. Right now I personally will admit to anything you want me to, but give me a just court."

Joe McMillan, one of Hamdan's civilian attorneys, said "it was a fairly extraordinary exchange" that "demonstrates the concerns our client has." He said the defense team still hopes to meet with Hamdan again, despite Hamdan's decision to dismiss his attorneys.

Harry Schneider, another of Hamdan's civilian attorneys, said Hamdan endured more than 30 interrogations, and that he was never told he had the right to an attorney or to remain silent. His defense team also has said that Hamdan was beaten and interrogated while in painful stress positions.