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Noting inspiration and courage on Independence DaySHOWCASE | July 03, 2006Happy Fourth. As a holiday message, we’d like to share an email we got the other day. It’s about two American military lawyers who represented suspected terrorists held as prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. On June 29th, the Supreme Court ruled that tribunals set up by the U.S. at Guantanamo violated the Geneva Convention and U.S. military rules. By Watchdog Editor The two lawyers referred to in the following letter were recipients last December of the Joe A. Callaway award for civic courage. One of the two, Lt. Cmdr. Swift, was the lawyer in the case decided by the Supreme Court last week. Dear Editor, I write to thank you for writing the article dated March 08, 2006, "Lawyers for Guantanamo Prisoners Lauded." It is no small thing to me when men and women of the caliber of Lt. Cmdr. Swift and Lt. Col. Shaffer are given the recognition they so justly deserve. [Click here for the March 8 article.] Far greater than the awards they have been given, are the words they have given us. Both have spoken with the eloquence and conviction that commands admiration from all who have heard them. It is truly inspirational to know that there are men and women in uniform who take courageous action not on the battlefield but in the dangerous waters of political struggle. My father, who took a law degree from Harvard and fought as a Captain in the Artillery, would be proud of your article and prouder still of these two splendid examples of human beings. I will (with implied consent) quote Lt. Swift and Shaffer in letters to friends. I can think of no more important action for people charged with forces of power, than the defense of the meek. To do so from within the established structure is to defend this country and the good it stands for, far beyond the call of military duty, but further, to the call of all humanity. With deepest gratitude. G. Richardson Cook
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