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Retired Admirals and Generals Endorse Smith-Amash Amendment

Raffaela Wakeman
Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 1:00 PM
The debate over the Smith-Amash amendment to the NDAA continues. Yesterday, we posted a letter written by former administration attorneys general criticizing that amendment, among others. Today, it's twenty-seven retired admirals and generals writing in support of the Smith-Amash Amendment to the 2013 NDAA in a letter organized by Human Rights First. The letter says:

Dear Representative:

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The debate over the Smith-Amash amendment to the NDAA continues. Yesterday, we posted a letter written by former administration attorneys general criticizing that amendment, among others. Today, it's twenty-seven retired admirals and generals writing in support of the Smith-Amash Amendment to the 2013 NDAA in a letter organized by Human Rights First. The letter says:

Dear Representative:

We are members of a nonpartisan group of forty retired generals and admirals concerned about U.S. policy regarding detention and treatment of persons held by our armed forces.

We write to urge you to support the Smith-Amash Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for (“NDAA”) the 2013 Fiscal Year. The Smith-Amash Amendment would roll back controversial and ill-advised detention provisions passed into law last year by banning indefinite detention within the United States and repealing a policy that mandates military custody for foreign terrorism suspects.

As retired general and flag officers, we do not make this request lightly. However, we strongly believe that sound national security policy depends on faithful adherence to the rule of law. Though it is lawful for the military to detain those engaged in hostilities in an armed conflict, the armed forces should not supplant our law enforcement and intelligence agencies at home. Those detained in the U.S. should not be held indefinitely without charge or trial or forced into military custody. Within the United States, those accused of terrorism crimes should face charges in a civilian court, consistent with our constitutional values.

We appreciate that our leaders are constantly striving to make America more secure, but the indefinite detention and mandatory military custody provisions passed into law in the Fiscal Year 2012 NDAA will do more harm than good. The Smith-Amash Amendment, if passed into law, would be an important first step towards reversing this damage.

The forty signatories are:
  • General Ronald H. Griffith, USA (Ret.)
  • General Joseph P. Hoar, USMC (Ret.)
  • General Charles C. Krulak, USMC (Ret.)
  • General David M. Maddox, USA (Ret.)
  • Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard Jr., USA (Ret.)
  • Lieutenant General Charles Otstott, USA (Ret.)
  • Lieutenant General Harry E. Soyster, USA (Ret.)
  • Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA (Ret.)
  • Rear Admiral Don Guter, JAGC, USN (Ret.)
  • Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, JAGC, USN (Ret.)
  • Major General Melvyn S. Montano, ANG (Ret.)
  • Major General William L. Nash, USA (Ret.)
  • Major General Thomas J. Romig, USA (Ret.)
  • Major General Walter L. Stewart, Jr., USA (Ret.)
  • Major General Antonio M. Taguba, USA (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General John Adams, USA (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General David M. Brahms, USMC (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, USA (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Leif H. Hendrickson, USMC (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General David R. Irvine, USA (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General John H. Johns, USA (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Keith H. Kerr, CSMR (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Richard O’Meara, USA (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Murray G. Sagsveen, USA (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Anthony Verrengia, USAF (Ret.)
  • Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, USA (Ret.)
Topics:
Armed Conflict Congress Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law Executive Branch Foreign Relations & International Law Terrorism & Extremism
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Raffaela Wakeman

Raffaela Wakeman

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Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT. Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.

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