A man of extraordinary courage
Major Michael D. Mori, U.S.M.C.
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by Robyn Shelly, for Unknown News
April 9, 2007
The spirit of Atticus Finch* lives on.
Like many Australians, I was not really too concerned initially about the fate of the two
Australian citizens captured in Afghanistan in 2001 but as time progressed and the perfidy
of the two tiered system being proposed by the US was rolled out it became increasingly
clear that something decidedly malodorous was going on in Cuba.
Then as we saw inmate after inmate being released, including one of the Australians,
Mamdouh Habib, we knew something was horrifyingly wrong. The growing disquiet in
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Australia about the way the proposed military tribunals were to be held, and the fact that
this system was only for foreigners and not for US citizens, offended the sensibilities of
many Downunder. Where was the much-vaunted American sense of justice for all? It was
sadly lacking until the arrival of the Major from the Marines.
When I first saw Major Michael Mori USMC on Australian television in 2004 I must admit I
was cynical, to say the least. He was almost in some ways the perfect caricature of the US
Marine Corps -- he partially shaved haircut, muscular, broad shoulders, a strong chiseled
jaw and that oh, so spiffy uniform! To Australians he was very American in his
demeanor, formally polite and well spoken, even a little stiff to begin with, while
dealing with the clamor of the media. But over time he has revealed himself to be a man
of extraordinary courage and sheer common decency.
Michael Mori was appointed Defense counsel for David Hicks in November 2003, some two years
after Hicks had first been interned. Mori graduated from Western New England School of
Law in Massachusetts, and had spent over seven years as a military trial lawyer, including
serving as senior defense counsel for the US Naval Legal Service Office Pacific and head
prosecutor for the Marines in Hawaii.
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Major Mori initially enlisted in the Marine Corps in
1983, before leaving the Corps after four years to complete college and law school. He returned
as an officer in 1995, and he has worked on more than 200 cases, including a number
of emotional cases involving sexual assault and drug trafficking. His awards and
decorations include the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corp Achievement
Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and other service and unit awards. In 2005 he was awarded
the Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty.
Michael Mori is indeed something of a modern day Atticus Finch. His passion for the law is
apparent in his defense of his client, and his defense of the law itself, which was under
attack from men who wished to subvert the accepted standards of legality for their own
ends. Whatever one might think of Major Mori's client (and I for one think he was fairly
naïve and foolish to end up in Afghanistan), there is no doubt that the lawyer in this case
was not a military stooge; he was man who has a deep commitment and, indeed, love of his
chosen profession. His integrity, honour and compassion were apparent as he spoke out
against the inherent bias of the proposed military tribunal system. What cost this might
bring to the Major in years to come is yet to be seen, but the vitriol shown by Colonel
'Mo" Davis, the chief US prosecutor, makes it hard to believe that Major Mori has not killed
his own career in the process of defending Hicks.
Mori has led by example it is just a
pity that the lesser men in power in the US and Australia do not have his integrity. His harsh criticisms of the innate bias in the system set up for trying 'enemy
combatants' led to him being threatened with removal from the case and indeed, threats
of being charged under Article 88 of the US military code, which relates to using
contemptuous language towards the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of Defense.
Penalties for breaching the code include jail and the loss of employment and entitlements.
In Australia we are not used to legal cases being argued in the media, as our legal system
precludes this under the concept of sub judice. Our Attorney General, Phillip Ruddock,
weakly tried to deflect Mori's criticisms by pointing this out at one stage, but the
integrity of the Major was unassailable, and indeed did much to increase the sympathy and
demands for a fair go for David Hicks. That this was largely a media-run campaign here in
Australia was somewhat foreign, but interesting nonetheless to watch. Even if the
uncomfortable fact was that it took an American Marine to remind the Australian public at
large of our own national ethos, 'Fair go, mate'.
David Hicks and his fellow inmates have been in detention for over five years now. The
Hicks case was obviously meant as some sort of symbol, being the first trial. The list of
charges to this point has been tragic comedy that in actual fact will only do more damage to
the credibility of the United States (despite the willful denials of those at the wheel).
Last weekend, Hicks took a plea bargain, which was trumpeted by the Australian Prime
Minister as vindication to the process -- but increasingly the PM is looking more and more
like his mate George Bush, who seems to think if he says something often enough it will be true.
Under the agreement, David Hicks will serve another nine months in jail, and he has been gagged by the US from
talking to the media -- a move your First Amendment would prevent there, but apparently not
here. But what has been achieved?
The laughable part of his plea bargain, his agreement that he was not abused, is denied by the public
record of his claims in the British courts, and by corroborative accounts of other inmates. It
smacks of some desperation from the prosecution.
Nothing has really been achieved, except that in this fog of disinformation and rhetoric
one man has emerged with his integrity and honour intact. And that man is Major Mori.
The United States can be very proud of Major Mori. He stands for those "American"
values that George Bush and his cronies trumpet long and loud, but rarely seem to uphold.
He is proof that there are still people of integrity in the United States. And as an
Australian, I am grateful to Major Mori, for reminding the public at large in Australia of our
concept that everyone deserves a fair go. Thank you, Major Mori, for restoring my faith in
the sheer decency (of most) of my fellow human beings.
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* The irony being that Major Mori was able to see that David Hicks received some books while in custody, but among books that were not permitted was To Kill A Mockingbird.
Addendum: Last Monday evening, the flagship current affairs program of our Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Four Corners, reconstructed David Hicks' interrogation by Australian Federal Police at
Guantanamo Bay. Taken directly from the transcripts of that interview, the viewer was left
in no doubt that David Hicks is not the brightest crayon in the box. He is certainly no
terrorist mastermind, nor the 'worst of the worst', as the inmates of Guantanamo have been
characterized. Which makes a complete laughing stock of the claims made about this man
by his own government and by the US.
As my partner observed after watching this
program, there is a million dollar story here, and when it is published, egg will be on a
number of faces. We can only hope.
The ultimate irony is that when the news came through
in Australia about Hicks' sentence, it was April Fools Day. But the
biggest fools are the men who perpetrated this travesty of justice, for they have damaged
not only themselves but the very principles they claim to uphold.
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© by the author.
Robyn Shelly is an artist and writer from Melbourne, Australia.
raven1278@hotmail.com
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