Excerpt from Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with NBC Meet the Press
December 2, 2001
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russert: Military tribunals. The president has given an order as commander-in-chief that military tribunals be established, if need be. What does that mean to you?

Rumsfeld: It means that the president, as was the case with George Washington, during the Civil War with Abraham Lincoln, and with Franklin Roosevelt during World War II, has said that it may that we need that option. And as a result, he has put in place and begun the work to develop the kinds of procedures and approaches that would be appropriate so that in the event that we need to have a military commission, that we would be in a place to detain a person and take control over a person that he designates. He has not designated anyone to be tried by a military commission. He may. He may not, but he may. And if he does, he wanted to get the military order out designating the secretary of Defense as the person responsible so that that work could begin.

I must say I've been interested in the press discussion and media discussion on the subject. I think it's been generally useful. It's elevated a lot of issues that are important and need to be considered. Some of it's been a little shrill given the fact that nobody's been designated yet to be tried by a military commission. But overall, those of us in the Department of Defense have found it useful, and we are working very hard with some very smart people all across the country, out of government, to try to make sure that we do this in the event it happens in a very measured, balanced, thoughtful way that reflects our country's values and approaches.

Russert: Let me go back to the World Trade Center in 1993 and how you some video of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. Here he is on the screen. You can see him. He was convicted for blowing up the Trade Center in '93. His son has now been taken into custody in Afghanistan. Is his son the kind of person that would go before a military tribunal?

Rumsfeld: Until we have developed the information that I need to make sensible judgments on something as important as this, I've decided not to opine on things like that. And second, I would say that that's a decision for the president. He will be the one who will designate what individuals will be assigned to the Department of Defense to take control over and then deal with respect to military commissions.

Russert: As you have mentioned, there's a lot of discussion about this issue. Terry Golway in the New York Observer had this to say: "If a terrorist is convicted by a military tribunal of something less than a capital crime, for example attempted murder or possession of a weapon, will the subsequent sentence be served on a special military facility? If so, we can expect convicted al Qaeda operatives to demand recognition as prisoners of war."

Have you thought that through? Where will they serve their time? Will they be prisoners of war?

Rumsfeld: We have thought through a good deal of it, and we're in the process of discussing some preliminary thoughts with, as I say, some truly outstanding legal advisers from around the country, out of government, people whose judgment we respect. And we're not prepared at the moment to draw conclusions. And we will be at some point in the future.

Russert: There is some downside, as you know. This headline caught it: "Europeans Reluctant to Send Terror Suspects to the United States." Even though they've arrested some since September 11th because the continent's harsh view of the U.S. legal system, particularly President Bush's plan for secret military tribunals, is creating resistance to possible extradition of suspects to the United States. So you have countries arresting people, but they're saying we're not sending them to the United States because we don't have faith in military tribunals.

Rumsfeld: Well, first of all, we don't know that that's true. That's a report that may or may not have substance under it. If it is true, it may be true in a very modest situation and not broadly true. Third, we have known for years that there's some differences in Europe with respects to views as to capital punishment. And that's fair enough. They have their countries; we have ours. They can make their judgment.

I would suggest that I think that'll not prove to be much of an impediment.

Russert: But the United States has been critical of Peru and Egypt and China for military tribunals. If a United States citizen was arrested as a suspected terrorist in China, would you feel comfortable with that American going before a military tribunal in China?

Rumsfeld: If one looked down from Mars and looked at the countries of the world and said if you had someone in whom you had an interest, where would you prefer -- of all the countries on the face of the earth, where would you prefer that that individual be tried in a military commission, I would think an overwhelming number of the people in the world would prefer it be done in the United States. We have a reputation for being fair and balanced and measured in what we do.

Russert: But other countries may react to that by creating their own military tribunals for American citizens.

Rumsfeld: Other countries already have military tribunals.

Russert: And we've criticized them for it.

Rumsfeld: And in cases where we've disagreed with how they've been handled, we have indeed, and we will in the future. And I'm sure that people will criticize us if we behave in a way that they, in their measured judgment, feel we've acted improperly. But I don't think we've going to act improperly, Tim.

Full text available here: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=2585